Darker than Black - Heaven's Gate
by Brennus
Summary: Misaki Kirihara has been working closely with the new Syndicate for some months when the reappearance of Heaven's Gate results in her being sent on a dangerous new mission. Soon, she encounters a mysterious young girl and a familiar face. What results from that meeting could mean the end of the world.
1. Chapter 1 - Encounter at the Gate

**Author's Note**

No, remarkably I'm not dead. Bearing in mind I live in Salisbury, England that's even more of a surprise. The Novichok hasn't got me yet, even if one of my favourite pubs is still closed.

My lack of output has mainly been due to work, which is just insane at the moment. I get home tired and really not in the mood to do more typing most nights. My subject choice last time, RWBY, was probably a mistake, too. The series is going in a direction which, while not actually bad, definitely reduces my desire to write about it. I even thought of returning to the Harry Potter world, but Fantastic Beasts just really isn't floating my boat.

In desperation, I instead turned to my anime collection and one title leaped out: Amagi Brilliant Park, err, I mean Darker than Black. 'Darker…' is part of my Holy Trinity of anime, along with Ergo Proxy and Black Lagoon. I always felt that a third series of DTB was needed as, after all, we never found out what the gates actually were or how Contractors actually came into being. Warning all Hei/Yin shippers, this is a Hei/Misaki tale as the idea that the two of them could actually be fighting on the same side was just too tempting to ignore. Sorry, but you have been warned.

I'm flying without a beta with this one so expect mistakes galore! As I'm expecting thousands and thousands of people to read a washed-up Harry Potter writer do a story about a mildly popular anime that finished in 2009, I'm sure I'll have loads of feedback. Maybe.

 **Chapter 1 – Encounter at the Gate**

Misaki Kirihara cautiously stepped out of the elevator and quickly glanced down both ends of the corridor. Seeing no one, she felt the tension ease from her tense shoulders. The trip here had been a hazardous one and if it hadn't been for such an important purpose she doubted she would have risked it. The Americans were everywhere and they had recruited enough traitors within the Japanese security services to make her existence a tenuous one.

Feeling a sense of urgency rising within her, Misaki scanned the numbers on the doors in front of her and discerned that she would find room 249 somewhere to her right. She headed off in that direction, the trainers on her feet feeling decidedly odd. She'd become so used to wearing sensible, flat shoes over the years that wearing anything else just felt wrong. However, the rest of her clothing was more suited to a low-rent teenager, so the trainers were definitely appropriate, unfortunately. In fact, the staff at the reception desk of the hotel had nearly denied her entry, at least until Misaki had convinced them she genuinely had business here.

Making her way down the carpeted corridors, Misaki soon found the room she was looking for. She knocked sharply twice on the door and waited. It seemed like a long time before she heard the door being unlocked which did nothing to steady her nerves. Only her stern discipline kept her from fearfully glancing up and down the corridor like some scared rookie. She'd been at this too long now to be so unprofessional.

Eventually, the door swung open to reveal an attractive, blond-haired woman who wore distinctive purple lipstick. The woman smiled warmly.

"Ah, there you are, my dear," Oreille practically purred. "Do come in."

Not needing a second invitation, Misaki stepped into the room, closing the door firmly behind her. Oreille was already sauntering back into what appeared to be quite a luxurious suite. The woman draped herself across a large, white sofa, before picking up a glass of what Misaki assumed to be champagne. She might be on the run from the Americans, but it certainly didn't look like Oreille was slumming it.

"Misaki, my darling, it really has been too long. Would you like a drink?"

"It's only been a couple of months," Misaki pointed out, "and, no, I'm not thirsty."

"All the more for me," Oreille declared.

"Are we safe using our real names?"

"Oh, naturally. You don't think for a moment that any room I was staying in could be successfully bugged, do you?" Oreille asked in a shocked tone. "Really, Misaki, this is me we're talking about."

"Sorry," she replied, sounding anything but. "Why did you need to see me so urgently? I had some difficulty extracting myself from that operation. I was pretty sure I was close to infiltrating the government department that…"

"Inconsequential," Oreille interrupted. "I have information that is much more important and something that I think you'll want to hear. You see, I believe I've discovered where they've taken your father."

"You have?" she exclaimed. "Where is he?"

"Would you believe in China? He's been placed in a prison camp set up to house important Japanese officials in the Yunnan region, not far from the Myanmar border, actually."

"I don't understand," Misaki declared. "My father was arrested by the Americans. How could he possibly have ended up in China?"

"Actually, I've been hearing strange rumours about two nations for some time. Although it's being kept top secret, it appears China and America have entered into something of an accommodation between themselves and are working together."

"What? But surely the two countries are natural enemies. Why would they work together?"

"The obvious answer is that it is beneficial for them to do so," Oreille explained. "It also seems that China has been rather clever and as result, the Americans have almost been forced to work with them. This actually leads me to the real reason why I called you here."

"I thought you called me to tell me about my father," Misaki protested. "You know how worried I've been since he was arrested."

"Of course, my dear, but I have another, equally pressing reason to summon you, and it's all linked to this new-found spirit of cooperation that the superpowers are suddenly feeling. It's to do with Heaven's Gate."

"Heaven's Gate? What has that got to do with anything? No one can get near the damn thing."

"While that was certainly true before, it appears things might be changing," Oreille revealed. "As that dreadful little man Schroeder confirmed, the gate is still there, we simply haven't been able to access it since the explosion. Well, that no longer seems to be the case. There are reports coming out of South American that vast areas that have previously been inaccessible have suddenly become reachable again. This has caught a lot of people rather flat-footed, apart from the Chinese it seems."

"What do you mean?"

"You might be aware that the Chinese government was extremely generous when it came to the relief effort after Heaven's Gate exploded, both in terms of cash and resources. They deployed large numbers of medical, engineering, and administrative staff to South America to provide aid. Most of them, it appears, are still there. What we didn't realise at the time was they also deployed many more soldiers to the area than we'd initially been led to believe. What was meant to be a small force to provide protection to their relief workers turned out to be a small army. Since then, they've been adding to those numbers, too, and have constructed several major military bases in what used to be Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. They've also built some pretty impressive port facilities at Buenaventura, not to mention several major airfields. In short, they're there to stay."

"But… how did the Americans allow all this to happen on their doorstep?" Misaki demanded.

"The Americans were too busy worrying about Hell's Gate here in Japan," Oreille explained. "Ironic, isn't it? The Chinese completely control the area around Heaven's Gate, while America has similar control over Hell's Gate, which is so close to China. As both states hold major playing pieces in the game and are unlikely to be wrestle control of the other's piece, they decided it would be best if they worked together. That includes stashing away Japanese dissident elements in the heart of China, away from the eyes of the American populous."

"Is there no way to free my father, then?" Misaki asked plaintively.

"Not unless you're prepared to fight through several million Chinese soldiers. No, if you really want to save him, not to mention liberate Japan from American occupation, your talents will be best served elsewhere."

"Explain."

"The rumours that Heaven's Gate has become accessible again are just that – rumours. I need someone I trust to go over there and find out exactly what's happening. Who better to do that then someone who has already been within the boundary of Hell's Gate? Frankly, Misaki, my dear, you're the perfect choice to undertake this mission."

"And how will this help my father?"

"Come, come, sweetie, think about it for a moment. Both of the world's premier superpowers are obsessed with the gates. Indeed, Hell's Gate is the only reason the Americans are here in Japan. Everything is tied into these two anomalies, and if we're to stand a chance of evicting the Yankees from the home islands we need to understand what the gates are for and, if necessary, how we can use them."

"Okay, I see your point," Misaki admitted, "but how am I supposed to do this? I can't exactly take a commercial airline to South America now, can I? Surely you don't expect me to do this alone, either, do you?"

"Ah, the details, yes." Oreille reached over and picked up a small, black book which she flipped open casually. "I've arranged to have a fake passport created for you which shows you have joint Japanese/Philippines nationality. You'll be able to take a flight to Luzon and from there on to Hawaii. There, you'll meet up with a handpicked group of mercenaries I've assembled for this job."

Misaki couldn't help but scowl at the word 'mercenaries'.

"It's alright, my dear, I've specially selected this group and none of them has any love for America or China," Oreille explained, completely misreading Misaki's objections. "From Hawaii, a small freighter will take you to a port in Peru. The ship is already loaded with a number of well-equipped, four-by-four vehicles which you can use to travel to Heaven's Gate. There isn't much in the way of border controls in that region anymore, so you shouldn't have too much trouble. Once there, I want you to find out as much as you can and then report back to me. I don't foresee any problems for a woman of your talents."

"Well, that's just jinxed it," Misaki muttered.

"Sorry?"

"Oh, nothing. Very well, I'll undertake your mission. I confess, if Heaven's Gate has opened again, I would like to know the reason why, myself."

"Excellent," Oreille said approvingly. "Now, your flight to Luzon leaves in about eight hours, so you'll need to get organised."

Misaki nodded. At that moment, she didn't know if she was excited or terrified at the prospect of entering the gate.

* * *

A sudden jolt shook Misaki awake. Blearily, she adjusted her glasses and looked around her. While visibility to the front was limited due to all the dust the jeep in front of them was kicking up from the dirt road, on either side she could see patches of thick woodland. The land appeared to have flattened out since she fell asleep, although she had no idea about how far they had travelled.

"Sorry 'bout that. Roads are pretty bloody awful."

Misaki looked over at the jeep driver - a huge, hulking Australian who identified himself only as 'Jacks'. He spoke pretty good Japanese, no doubt the reason he'd been assigned to her. Two more men rode in the back of the stripped-down vehicle, although she couldn't remember their names. Both looked vaguely European and both were heavily armed. The other two jeeps in their small convoy were similarly equipped and manned.

"How far have we come?" she asked Jacks, gripping the roll bar to steady herself as the vehicle bumped along.

"Around one hundred and twenty kilometres, thereabout," he replied. "You've slept all that time. You must have been pretty tuckered out, little lady."

"I've been pretty much on the move constantly for the last week or so," she admitted. "I didn't even have time to catch up my sleep on the ship."

The man just nodded and said no more. The mercenaries had proved to be pretty much what she imagined they would be, with the single exception that there were two females in their ranks. Perhaps Oreille had insisted on their inclusion to make her feel more comfortable, but Misaki doubted it. In fact…

A fireball suddenly erupted in from of them, engulfing the lead vehicle.

"Ambush!" Jacks yelled, slamming on the brakes.

As soon as the jeep skidded to a halt, bullets started to impact around them. Several hit the hood of the vehicle, punching neat holes in the metal. One went straight through the windscreen, cracking the glass and nearly hitting her.

Jacks had grabbed his assault rifle and was enthusiastically firing at some unseen target. For her part, Misaki grabbed her combat pack and her own rifle and bailed out of the jeep. She was already wearing her web gear, so she only needed to swing the pack onto her back and quickly tighten the straps. She then clutched her carbine and, from the cover of the jeep, tried to figure out what was going on.

A quick look to her front revealed that the lead jeep was a twisted, burning, mess. No one could have survived what she assumed to have been a hit from a rocket, or perhaps the vehicle had hit a mine. Either way, all four occupants were undoubtedly dead. Looking back the other way, the rear jeep also seemed to be in trouble. They seemed to be under heavy machine gun fire, with tracer bullets riddling the vehicle. The driver was slumped over the wheel while another of the mercenaries was hanging limply over the side.

An agonised cry made her turn back, just in time to see Jacks fall, his neck a bloody mess where he'd been hit. She couldn't see the other two men who'd been with them, but the fact that she couldn't hear any return fire seemed to be a bad sign. Whoever was shooting at them was too well numerous and well-equipped. Misaki quickly realised that if she stayed where she was she would die.

Off to the side was a thickly forested area that offered cover, but unfortunately to get to it would mean crossing an open stretch of dirt. With the amount of incoming fire, she doubted she would make it without being hit. She needed something to hide her movement.

Keeping as low as possible, she reached back into the jeep and grabbed an item off Jacks' webbing. Her movement attracted some fire but she was quick enough that she was only exposed for a second. Gripping the smoke grenade tightly, she pulled the pin and threw it over the hood of the jeep as far as she could. Nothing happened for a moment causing Misaki to fear the grenade had been a dud, but then purple smoke began to swirl in the air. She waited for the smoke to thicken before she made her move.

Almost immediately she saw she had a problem. Whoever was out there must have guessed what she was doing and was blindly shooting into the smoke. Clearly, she could see the tracer rounds buzzing like angry fireflies through the air at chest height. To stand up would mean instant death.

Realising that time was not on her side, Misaki began to crawl towards the treeline on her hands and knees. She could clearly hear the bullets cracking overhead, making her cringe each time one came close. Even as she crawled, she kept looking back behind her, fearing that the smoke might start to thin at any second, revealing her position. In fact, she thought it was already starting to dissipate and she could see the muzzle flashes of her attackers in the distance. Although she had already been moving frantically, it inspired her to move even faster.

Mercifully, she soon started to feel twigs pressing into the palms of her hands and the first branches appeared overhead. Misaki fought down the urge to climb to her feet and run, but kept her nerve and continued to crawl. Only when she started to encounter bushes barring her way did she rise to a crouch and sprint forward. Behind her, rounds continued to impact with fierce intensity. She was out of the kill zone!

Not wasting another second, Misaki began to run as fast as she could. The terrain was difficult, with the undergrowth being thick and unyielding. She didn't pause, however, leaping over bushes and ducking under branches. Blindly, she ran, not having any idea what direction she was going or where she should be heading. It didn't matter, however, she just needed to put as much distance between her and whoever was trying to kill her. Fortunately, she was young and fit, and fear was a great motivator.

She was unsure how long she ran. It was only when exhaustion began to overtake her that she began to slow. The ground was becoming undulating and, emerging from a clump of trees, she found herself facing a deep valley. Gasping for breath, she quickly decided that descending into the valley would be a good idea and she began to pick her way down, grabbing at trees to slow herself as she went. It took her a good half an hour before she reached the valley floor. Only then did she stop to gather her thoughts.

Clearly, someone who was very heavily armed hadn't wanted her group to get anywhere near the gate. Had this been a random ambush, though? Had she been specifically targeted? Who was it? The Americans? The Chinese? Some unknown local warlord? There was no way to know, short of walking back towards her attackers.

So, what did she do now? She was armed and had food for a couple of days in her pack, but that was it. She had no map or means of contact with the outside world. Indeed, she had no clear idea exactly where she was, other than she was probably somewhere in what used to be Brazil. In short, she was lost, had limited supplies, no means of transport, and had a gang of heavily armed people behind her who were trying to kill her.

Super.

Misaki realised she had very limited options. Going back seemed like the best way to get a bullet through her forehead, but what else could she do? She did have an emergency compass, but without knowing where she was it was of little use. All she knew was that Heaven's Gate was out there, somewhere to the east.

Heaven's Gate. Someone had tried to stop them going there and she wanted to know why. She had no means of getting there, other than on her own two feet. Unless she could find food along the way, the chances were that she would starve long before she got there, but what else could she do? If she stayed there, she would be hunted down and probably killed. At least trying to reach the gate gave her a purpose, admittedly a near-impossible one.

Filled with renewed determination, she pulled the compass from her pack, intent on heading east. She sighed as she saw that she would need to climb the steep side of the valley. Grimly, she pulled her pack a little higher on her shoulders and headed off again.

* * *

Misaki stumbled slightly and came to a halt. Overhead, the sun beat down upon her mercilessly and she silently lamented the lack of cover. Indeed, it was that very lack of vegetation that made her think that she was closer to Heaven's gate than she'd first supposed.

It had been two days since the ambush and she'd been walking constantly since then, resting only when the darkness was too black to make travelling safe. Only then had she found a space to hide herself away, unnoticed, and slept cradling her M-4 carbine in her arms.

Reaching for her canteen, she took a quick drink. Water, fortunately, had not been an issue as she'd encountered many rivers and streams. Hopefully, her water sterilisation tablets would prevent her from getting sick drinking it, but she had a more pressing problem, anyway, namely food. She'd husbanded her meagre rations to this point bit, even so, she estimated that she only had enough to eat for another day or two at the most. Her hope that she would discover edible fruit or berries had proved forlorn, and starvation in these wide, empty wastes now seemed a very real possibility. Idly, she wondered if she would have the courage to shoot herself in the head rather than suffer the agonising pangs of hunger if it came to it.

It was only around midday, but Misaki could already feel her energy levels dropping sharply. She missed the lush canopy of trees that provided overhead cover for her during the first day of her trip. Increasingly now the terrain consisted of rough, yellowing scrub grass or just red dirt. There were still patches of woodland, but they seem to be becoming less and less frequent. With the sun at its hottest, however, she needed to find some shade, if only for a while. Squinting into the distance, she was delighted to see a substantial crump of trees some way off. A brisk half an hour's walk should see her there where she could rest.

Her spirits briefly revived by the thought of a sit down in the shade, she resumed her march. In fact, it took her nearly an hour to reach the welcome refuge of the trees and by the time she arrived she was dead on her feet. Stumbling forward, she had just enough energy to get beyond the treeline and into the heart of the woods before her legs gave out. Gratefully, she slipped the straps of her backpack off her shoulders and let her rifle slide from her grasp.

"Hello."

Misaki's drooping head snapped up at the sound of a human voice, the first she'd head since the ambush. Her eyes widened as she saw who had spoken.

Ahead of her, sitting on the low branch of a tree, was a young girl. She was perhaps around twelve or thirteen years old, with luxurious, golden hair that hung down past her shoulders. The girl wore a simple white dress and had open-toed sandals on her feet. She was, Misaki had to admit, quite stunningly beautiful and her radiant smile seemed to light up the whole clearing.

But why would a young girl be out here in the middle of nowhere, sitting in a tree seemingly without a care in the world? Unless…

Unless she wasn't human.

Slowly, Misaki reached for her rifle. She had just wrapped her fingers around the pistol grip when the girl spoke again.

"It's alright. You won't need that. I won't hurt you."

The girl spoke with such conviction and confidence that it convinced Misaki that her first thought had been correct. This beautiful child must be a Contractor.

"Who are you?" she asked, not loosening her grip on her weapon.

"You can call me Ama," the girl replied while gracing Misaki with a beaming smile.

"Ama? That's an unusual name. Where do you come from, Ama?"

"The same place as all the others," the child replied mysteriously. "Really, Misaki, you can trust me, you know. Please relax."

Misaki stiffened. "I never mentioned my name," she pointed out sharply.

"I knew it anyway. I know lots about you, Misaki," the girl declared happily. "For instance, I know that you have a big bunch of Chinese soldiers chasing after you. They're less than ten kilometres behind you now."

"Shit!" Misaki cursed, spinning round to scan the horizon behind her.

"Don't worry, they won't find you here. Not even with the dogs they brought with them."

Dogs? Damn it all, Misaki cursed silently. She might have guessed things had gone too smoothly since the ambush. As she tried to plan the best way to avoid her pursuers, a thought occurred to her.

"How do you know I'm being followed?" she demanded of the young girl. "For that matter, you never said how you knew who I was. Are you a Doll?"

"A Doll?" Ama repeated in amusement. "Oh, no. I'm certainly not a Doll, although I do have a number of special talents."

"A Contractor, then?"

"Hmm, closer, but still not very accurate," Ama replied, a radiant smile still affixed to her lips, "but what I am isn't really important right now. You're in a very difficult situation here, Misaki, and unless you get help, you'll undoubtedly be killed."

"You're going to help me?" Misaki asked suspiciously.

"Yes," Ama replied.

Silence descended in the wood.

"Okay," Misaki drawled when it became apparent the girl wasn't going to say anything further. "What are you going to do?"

"For the moment, I'm just waiting," Ama explained, her legs swinging beneath her carelessly as if she was on a family picnic, not confronting an armed woman in the middle of a blasted wasteland.

"Waiting? What are you waiting for?"

"The same thing you are."

Misaki growled. She was beginning to suspect that this adolescent beauty was playing her for a fool. She took a step forward, fully intent on confronting the girl when she caught movement to her right out of the corner of her eye. She spun around and started to raise her weapon… before freezing dead in her tracks.

Standing before her was a tall man with jet black hair. He wore black combat pants with a black vest and had a web belt with several pouches and a water bottle at his waist, along with two knives. The most startling thing about the man, however, was the white Pierrot style mask which had a purple lightning-bolt across the right eye slit.

Of course, she recognised him instantly. Somehow, on the other side of the world from where they last met, she had again found BK-201.

Or perhaps, he'd found her.


	2. Chapter 2 – Child of the Sun

**Chapter 2 – Child of the Sun **

Right, first up, some housekeeping. After attempting to fly solo last chapter in the mistaken belief that my usual beta would have no interest in a Darker than Black story, Arnel contacted me, told me I was an idiot (although not in so many words), and provided an edit correcting the errors I'd missed. Needless to say, from this point onwards I will be relying on her wonderful skills again.

So, 132 views so far, which is pretty much what I expected. If I was just after hits and reviews I would still be writing Harry Potter stories, after all. However, I did get one review! Thank you, desy – I would have responded directly but you posted as a guest reviewer. No, Ama isn't anything to do with Amber and is an OC. This chapter, however, will provide a huge hint as to who she is exactly. I'll just say that western audiences never really picked up on the Japanese folk law elements of 'Gemini of the Meteor' and it was partially the reason why many were confused by the series. That and the fact the OVA's should have been the opening chapters but, hey, this is anime. Do you really want everything to make sense?

Right, onto the second chapter where everything starts going a bit Mad Max. Anyone fancy posting a second review?

* * *

"What are you doing here?"

BK-201's voice was muffled behind the mask, but Misaki could clearly hear the anger in the man's tone. For a second, she wondered what he would do. After all, the last time they met he had a knife to her throat.

"I could ask you the same question," she snapped, aiming her rifle at him. In response, his hands began to reach for his knives… until a peel of childish laughter made him stop in his tracks. Both of them turned their heads towards the young girl sitting in a tree.

"Ha! I did it!" she squealed happily. "My dumb brother said I wouldn't be able to, but what does Susanoo know?"

"What are you talking about? Who are you, anyway?" BK-201 demanded of the girl before he turned his head towards Misaki. "Why did you bring a child to this of all places, Kirihara?"

"She's nothing to do with me," Misaki retorted. "I just arrived here a moment ago and found this girl already here."

"Indeed, and I was waiting here just for the two of you to arrive," the girl explained cheerfully. "It certainly took a lot of effort but I managed to get you both here at the same time. Now, Misaki, stop pointing that stupid gun at Hei. Hei, please take your hands off your knives – you really don't need them at the moment."

BK-201 shot an appraising glance at Misaki before he visibly relaxed and let his arms drop to his sides. In turn, Misaki let the muzzle of her weapon drop but kept it ready in her hands.

"Really, you two are so silly," the girl scolded them both. "Why are you pretending you don't like each other?"

"He's a Contractor. He doesn't 'like' anyone. He has no emotions," Misaki growled. "Plus, he tried to kill me last time we met."

"If I'd really been trying to kill you, you wouldn't be here now," BK-201 countered. "I don't know why you're here, Kirihara, or who you're working for now. Japan is just a puppet state at the moment, after all. Are you working for the Americans? Did they send you to track me down?"

"Misaki's here for the same reason as you are, Hei," the girl interrupted. "You both heard that Heaven's Gate had become accessible again and you're here for answers. I'm sorry, though, you're not going to find any here. The area around the gate is open again, but you won't be able to get close to it. Not yet."

"Who are you?" BK-201 demanded.

"You can call me Ama. I'm here to help both you and Misaki."

"Okay, perhaps I phrased my question badly," BK-201 admitted. "Perhaps I should have asked what are you? You don't seem human to me, but you're don't seem like a Contractor, either."

"Ha! Hei is smarter than you, Misaki, he got it right away," Ama chortled in delight. "I can't really explain what I am to you, but let's just say that I wouldn't be here if Heaven's Gate hadn't started to open again."

They stood in silence for a moment before Hei grunted. "Okay," he said.

"Okay? You're accepting that as an explanation?" Misaki gasped. "What exactly do you know that I don't?"

"I know the two gates are portals to other places. Spirits… beings with strange powers… they've come through the gate. I know. I've seen them."

Misaki looked back at the girl. "You came through the gate?"

"Not exactly. At least, not all of me did. It's very complicated," Ama told them with a shrug. "I could try and explain it all to you, but we really don't have time. Those Chinese soldiers I mentioned will be here soon and there are rather a lot of them. I don't think even Hei could beat them all and he's super strong! If you listen, however, I'll tell you what you need to do to get the answers you seek."

"I'm listening," Hei growled.

"As I said, you won't be able to get to Heaven's Gate at the moment. In fact, if you try you'll be killed. No, there's someone you need to speak to, the Stargazer."

"Hoshimi? But I have no idea where she is. The government moved her after the Astronomical Observatory was closed down," Misaki objected. "She could be anywhere. The Americans probably have her, I expect."

"Do you know where she is?" BK-201 asked the girl.

"No, she's hidden from me," Ama admitted, "but it's her you need to speak to. The Mikata Documents are incomplete and only she can fill in the blanks."

"How do you know all this?" Misaki gasped.

"Do you have any clues were Madam Stargazer might be?" BK-201 asked, ignoring Misaki. "We have to know where to start looking."

"You're right that the government took her in their custody, right after the observatory was closed. After that panic at Hell's Gate, they decided she was too valuable to risk anything happening too so they hid her away somewhere," Ama explained. "Remember, this was before the Americans arrived in numbers and I think she's hidden even from them. Anyway, the decision to move her was taken by a group of high-ranking politicians and policeman in charge of the Tokyo area. Can you think of anyone who might have been an important member of the police at that time, Misaki?"

"My father?" she gasped.

"Yes, that's right. Your father was one of the ones who arranged for Madam Stargazer to be moved. If anyone knows where she is, it will be him."

"But he's interned in a prison camp in China," Misaki objected. "I was told there was no chance of trying to rescue him."

"Perhaps before, but now you have one of the most efficient Contractors in the world on your side," Ama pointed out.

"Wait a minute," BK-201 interrupted. "I never agreed to help anyone. You said a group of officials ordered Hoshimi to be moved. Surely there is someone else that knows the secret that is more accessible?"

"Sadly, no," Ama explained. "Of that group of officials, nearly all of them are dead. Only three are alive, including Misaki's father. Of the other two, one is in the same prison as Naoya Kirihara is and the other is in the CIA's care in America."

"I see," BK-201 mussed, "and you're certain that Madam Stargazer is the only one who can give us answers as to what's happening here?"

"Definitely," Ama confirmed. "She is the conduit to this whole thing. She needs to speak the words to set the end in motion and you both need to be there to hear them."

"Wait a minute, I don't like that phrase, 'putting the end in motion'. What do you mean by that? This isn't going to cause trouble, is it?" Misaki asked warily.

"It will be the beginning of the end, what needs to happen," Ama told her, her smiling face suddenly serious. "None of this should have happened and the gates should never have opened here on Earth. Prophecy told of their arrival and laid out a means to save the planet from the inevitable disaster that will occur if they are not closed. Believe me, Misaki, everyone will die if action isn't taken. Everyone."

"Well, I guess I can't argue with that," BK-201 grunted. "It looks like we're going to China."

"Hold on a second! You believe all this? You're taking this strange girl's word at face value?" Misaki demanded.

"Yes, I am."

"But… why?"

"Because… because I've seen too much already not to believe this," he explained. "The simple fact that she knows so much means that she has some involvement in this and I believe her when she says something has to be done about the gates. The world has been tearing itself apart ever since they appeared and it's only getting worse. It's time to put a stop to this."

"As I understand it, my father is being held at a facility in the Yunnan region. How do you think we'll be able to travel across thousands of kilometers of hostile territory, break into a heavily guarded prison, and then escape? Do you really think that's achievable?"

"We won't know until we try," he reasoned. "Besides, I don't see what choice we have."

Misaki stared at that white mask questioningly. Did she trust him? Could she afford not to trust him?

"Hei, why don't you take that silly mask off? It really doesn't suit you," Ama announced suddenly.

The lean man hesitated for a second before he complied with Ama's wishes. He pulled the mask from his face and stowed it in a pouch which hung from his belt. Misaki immediately found it impossible to tear her eyes away from his face. He looked exactly as she remembered. The sight of his sharp, almost angular features and dark, penetrating eyes was enough to set her heart racing. Silently, she cursed herself for a fool for feeling the way she did, but she just couldn't help it. Although he had been posing as the affable Li Shengshun when they had first met, her attraction had waived not an iota when she had discovered that, in fact, she had been spending time with the dreaded Black Reaper.

Truthfully, it had actually been something of a turn-on for her.

Dragging her eyes from his face, Misaki concentrated on the small girl, still gleefully swinging legs as she perched on the branch of a tree. Ama returned her gaze, amusement plain on her face. If she didn't know better, she would have sworn that the girl knew exactly what she had been thinking about.

"So, what happens now?" Misaki demanded, still adamantly not looking at BK-201, at least not until she had managed to get her emotions in check.

"That's up to you," Ama replied with a shrug. "If I was you, though, I'd probably want to get out of here pretty fast. Those Chinese soldiers are getting awfully close, you know."

"And how do we do that?" Misaki asked bitterly. "The convoy I was travelling was shot to hell and I don't fancy our chances on foot."

"I have transport," BK-201 declared, "but I don't think it will carry all three of us."

"That's okay. I wasn't coming with you anyway. Bye!"

Ama pushed herself off the branch and promptly vanished into thin air. Misaki gasped and dropped her rifle in shock. She turned to face BK-201 with her eyes wide and her mouth open. He, in turn, just stared at the spot the girl disappeared from for a moment, before turning and starting to walk back in the direction he had come from.

"Come on, Kirihara, we need to get out of here," he called back to her. "Unless you want to face half the Chinese Army by yourself, that is."

Misaki snapped out of her bemused state and stooped to pick up her gun. Quickly, she hurried after him, breaking into a jog to catch up with his longer strides. She soon caught up, however, although she was nearly hit by a branch for her trouble as BK-201 methodically pushed his way through the undergrowth.

"You said you had transport?" Misaki prompted as she followed closely behind.

"Yeah, it's hidden in some trees about half a click away. It makes a lot of noise so I've been frequently stopping and scouting ahead on foot now that I'm so close to the gate."

"Are we really so close?" she asked in surprise.

He stopped so quickly that she nearly ran into the back of him. He turned and looked back the way they had come.

"Yes, we're close," he revealed. "I can feel it."

"Despite what that weird little girl said, do you want to try and see what's there?"

"No, I actually suspected that the gate wasn't fully accessible before I even came here but I really didn't have anything better to do. Besides, if the Chinese are on your tail we'd never make it. It's best we get out of here, but where we go to is anyone's guess. I didn't really have a backup plan when I came out here."

"What? That's not like you. I thought you always had some clever escape plan up your sleeve. What were you going to do when you got to the gate and found you couldn't get to it?"

"I didn't really care," he mumbled, before turning and starting to walk again.

Misaki frowned as she followed behind him. For some reason, his last statement disturbed her. It was so… un-Contractor like. Even so, she bit her tongue and continued to march behind him.

Very soon they had left the shady cover of the wood and once again Misaki found herself walking through ruff scrubland under the full glare of the sun. BK-201 appeared unaffected by the heat and continued his relentless pace. If anything, he began to speed up, perhaps being wary of being in the open as they were. Despite the danger, Misaki was beginning to struggle to keep up with him, at least until he came to a complete stop and began to stare intently towards the horizon.

"Do you hear that?" he asked.

Misaki frowned and began to concentrate intensely. Once they had stopped moving, she heard what had attracted his attention immediately.

"Dogs," she muttered, having heard the faint barking.

"Just as well we didn't hang around any longer," he noted. "Come on, we need to get to that next group of trees."

He broke into a run, although thankfully not a terribly fast one. In fact, now that they were running she found that she could keep up with him more easily. The knowledge that the Chinese Army was hot on their tail was a great motivator and they soon reached the clump of trees BK-201 had indicated. They ducked into cover and pushed further into the wood until he signalled a halt. Stopping by a bush, BK-201 began to remove various branches and other foliage from what Misaki had at first thought was just a tangle of the vegetation. She soon realised her mistake.

From the jumble of undergrowth, BK-201 pulled out a motorcycle. Although not very knowledgeable about such things, she recognised it was a motocross type which would be perfect for the kind of terrain they faced. The only problem she foresaw was that the bike wasn't very large and she wasn't certain it could carry two.

"It'll be okay," he informed her as soon as she voiced her concern. "It might be a bit snug but we'll manage."

Just for a moment, Misaki experienced apprehension at the idea of the two of them being pressed together on the back of the bike. She, no doubt, would have to put her arms around his middle. No sooner had the thought occurred to than she dismissed it. She was a grown woman and a senior police officer. There was no way she was going to behave like an embarrassed schoolgirl, certainly not around him. No sooner had BK-201 mounted the bike than she perched herself behind him.

It was, as he said it would be, rather snug. The bike clearly wasn't designed for two passengers but with BK-201 sitting as far forward as he was able and she pressing herself right up against his back they managed to find a workable position.

"Li," Misaki began, "do you think…"

"That's not my name," he interrupted her. "Call me Hei."

"Hei," she repeated. She'd known it to be his true name, but somehow the alias he'd used when they first met was more comforting. "Okay, Hei. What I was going to ask is how far the noise of this thing carries. If the Chinese are on our tail, we could bring them right to us. They're bound to have motor transport, perhaps even helicopters."

"The noise does carry, but I think we'll be able to dart in and out of cover fairly easily," he confirmed. "Besides, travel a little way east of here and you'll start to encounter wild gangs. They often use bikes as transport and I doubt the Chinese will bother chasing us if they think we're one of them."

"Wild gangs? Really?"

"You came in from the west, right? The area isn't nearly so bad and most of the relief agencies use Peru or Colombia as staging areas. Lots of troops to protect those relief workers. To the east and south, however, not so much. There are vast areas of what once was central and southern Brazil that are just lawless ganglands now. Once we clear the immediate area we'll have more to fear from them than those Chinese soldiers. That raises a good point, actually. Where are we heading?"

Misaki thought for a moment.

"Oreille did mention several emergency escape routes, but most of them will mean heading back into the area controlled by the Chinese. I guess we weren't expecting them to be so aggressive in guarding the gate. The only other one she told me about was through a port in northern Chile. It's probably the safest one to use, but it's a long way to travel. What range has this bike got?"

"Not far. It only has a small petrol tank. That's not a problem, though. The further we go south, the more civilised things become. I'm sure we can find fuel along the way."

"I guess we're heading to Chile then," Misaki decided.

"Okay. Hang on tight."

With a violent motion, Hei kick-started the bike. It did indeed make a loud and penetrating noise, and caused Misaki to look around warily. No one was in sight, thankfully, and Hei wasn't hanging around. With a sudden lurch, he accelerated away, causing Misaki to grab onto him tightly. The ground was bumpy and the bike's suspension springy.

This was going to be a very long ride, she concluded.

* * *

"I think they've seen us."

Hei's shout caused Misaki to look up. Despite the discomfort of the bike bouncing around, she'd quickly discovered the worst thing about travelling in this manner was the dust. It got in her eyes, her mouth, and inside her clothing. Hei had a pair of goggles he'd produced from somewhere, but her glasses were poor protection. As a result, she'd taken to pressing her face into his back as tightly as possible which offered some relief. His warning made her look up, however.

"Where?"

"There. To our right near that clump of trees. About a squad of infantry, I think. I doubt they can hit us from there even if they tried."

"Yes, but they're bound to have radios and they can warn anyone ahead," she pointed out.

"True. I'll keep going this way until we're out of sight then take another route. We may have to go a little further east than I'd intended, but I think we'd better play it safe."

"Yes, I agree. The people I was travelling with were meant to be experienced mercenaries, but they were all cut down in seconds."

"Never underestimate a Chinaman," Hei announced, and Misaki could have sworn she heard a touch of pride in his voice.

They were soon out of sight of the Chinese soldiers and Hei took the opportunity to veer off the dusty track they'd been following onto what was practically just scrub ground. He often had to use his feet to steady the bike as it went up hillocks and down into shallow ditches. They circumnavigated small streams and avoided rocky outcrops. The going seemed torturously slow to Misaki, but thankfully this route was less dusty than the previous one. They kept ploughing on relentlessly until Hei turned the bike and headed towards a small area of woodland where he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Misaki asked in alarm.

"Nothing, but we're starting to lose light. It will be dark soon and trying to ride a bike over this kind of terrain at night would be suicidal."

Only when he mentioned it did she notice that the light was indeed fading. The wood would provide cover for them and, she had to admit, she would be glad of a rest.

"How much food and water do you have?" Hei asked.

"Not much," she admitted. "My canteen is about half full, but I've only got a few energy bars left to eat."

"I have enough for us to share tonight, but we'll have to make finding provisions a priority tomorrow. I've got less than a third of a tank of gas left, too."

"Will we find anything out here?"

"We should be alright," he assured her. "We've covered quite a bit of distance from the gate today and I'm pretty sure we'll start to find habitation soon. The folks living there might not be very friendly, but I'm sure we'll be able to work something out."

"I hope you're right," she replied fervently, before looking around her. "We should make camp further into the woods so there's no chance we'll be seen. I don't suppose you have a tent with you, do you?"

"No, and we don't need one," Hei told her. "I've got a ground sheet and I'll rig up a poncho over us in case it rains in the night. Do you have any heavier clothing?"

"I've got a waterproof jacket in my backpack. I should be warm enough if I wear that," she confirmed. All she had on was a green vest and a light, camouflaged jacket. The breathable waterproof should be enough for tonight.

"Good. Let's find a suitable spot and then I'll hide the bike. I don't think we'll need to set a watch out here, although I might set up a few traps around the place. Just be careful if you need to get up in the night to pee."

"Thanks, I'll bear that in mind," she muttered sourly.

Hei proved to be a quick and efficient worker, which was just as well as darkness fell quite rapidly. He'd just finished putting the finishing touches to their poncho shelter when they lost the last of the light. Within the tangled wood, the darkness was thick and impenetrable.

They ate dinner by the light of a torch hidden under their groundsheet. While all Misaki could offer were her pair of energy bars, Hei had brought along military-style rations that were contained in thick, brown plastic bags. You were meant to boil the bags in water, but they didn't want to risk a fire which would have been visible for miles. They therefore ate their food cold, washed down by nothing more than plain water. Even so, it was a better meal than Misaki had eaten in the last few days.

After clearing their used items away, they settled down for the night. Misaki had some concern at Hei's insistence that they didn't need to keep a watch but had bowed to the logic that it was highly unlikely that the Chinese, or anyone else for that matter, would find them here. The only way they really could have been spotted was by an aircraft or helicopter with a thermal imaging camera, but even if they were, he doubted the Chinese would bother with them. After all, they were moving away from Heaven's Gate, and the soldiers' main purpose appeared to be stopping people travelling towards it. Too tired to disagree, Misaki accepted his argument and laid down next to him on the groundsheet.

As she lay there, she could hear the sound of nocturnal birds and small animals around her, but nothing that caused her any great concern. In truth, she realised, the main danger came from the man lying next to her. He was, she reminded herself, a Contractor and a paid killer. How many lives had he taken, she wondered? Indeed, could he even remember himself?

Despite that, Misaki knew she couldn't mentally separate the murderous Hei from the affable Li Shengshun, the persona he had been posing under when she first met him. Li had been kind, sensitive, and even a little goofy, but she'd been taken with him immediately. Although it had only been an act, somehow, deep down behind that emotionless mask Hei wore, Misaki still believed that there was a little of Li still in there. Despite everything she knew about him and the fact that he'd had a knife to her throat back in Tokyo, she still felt safe around him. Far safer than she had around those heavily-armed mercenaries, certainly. For some reason she couldn't explain, she knew that if they ran into trouble with Hei's help they would come through it, no matter what it was. She had that much faith in him.

Crazy.

Feeling exhaustion overtake her, Misaki closed her eyes and let sleep take her. Beside her slept probably the most dangerous man she would ever meet, close enough that she could feel his body warmth but she couldn't bring herself to be worried about it in the slightest.

* * *

"Time to get up."

A rough shake of her shoulder was enough to raise Misaki from her slumber. Groping for her glasses, she was surprised to see that it was full daylight, obscured only by a light haze that suggested that the day was going to be a hot one.

"Breakfast is nearly ready," Hei informed her. "I risked a small fire and heated up some oatmeal."

"That sounds good. I haven't eaten a hot meal in days," she confessed.

"It will probably be the only hot food you'll get today."

"I suspect that will be more of an issue for you than me," she teased. "I seem to recall you eat like you have hollow legs."

"I do tend to use up a lot of energy," he admitted. "Guess I'm going to have to tighten my belt on this trip."

Chuckling, Misaki removed the waterproof jacket she'd slept in and packed it away. The only sanitary items she had with her were a few packets of wet-wipes, so she stripped off her combat jacket and used a couple of the pre-moistened cloths to give herself a token wash. Like all their other trash, the wipes were packed away afterwards so there would be no sign that they had been there. While she was doing that, Hei dismantled their shelter while keeping one eye on their breakfast.

The two of them ate in comfortable silence. Misaki was surprised at how much she enjoyed her simple meal, as oatmeal would never have been on her list of preferred breakfast items. Mournfully, she scanned the horizon in the hope that she'd spot a convenient McDonalds but, sadly, no such miracle presented itself.

"How much food do we have left?" she asked Hei as she spooned the last of her breakfast into her mouth.

"Enough to last a couple of days if we're careful," he confided. "Fuel is the bigger worry. I estimate at the current rate the bike will run out of gas by the end of the day."

"I guess from that point we walk."

"Nah, I think we'll be alright. From what I recall, we'll soon start encountering inhabited areas," Hei assured her. "I'm going to start tacking back westward and I'm pretty sure we'll hit what's left of a major road that way. The Chinese won't have any interest in us, I'm sure. They'll just take us for members of one of the gangs that roam this part of the world and we'll encourage that."

"Are you sure? We don't exactly look like we're South American, you know," she pointed out.

"True, but we're both so caked in mud and dust that I don't think anyone will be able to tell the difference, anyway. Just keep your mouth shut and try and act like you're a ruthless gang member and we should be alright."

"I'll take your word for it," Misaki agreed grudgingly. "Actually, do you have anything I can wrap around my face? I think I swallowed half of Brazil yesterday."

Hei said nothing, but reached into his bag and pulled out a green square of cloth which probably had a dozen uses. It would serve ably as a face mask.

Soon, they were ready to go again. Hei had carefully raked over their campsite making sure there were no traces of their presence and that they'd left nothing behind. Satisfied, he wheeled the bike out of the woods and mounted it. He was again just wearing a black vest and combat pants, with his goggles over his eyes. Misaki left her combat jacket in her bag, leaving her dressed nearly identically, save her pants were camouflaged. The bandana was tied tightly over her nose and mouth, and she'd have trust her glasses to protect her eyes. Her assault rifle was slung across her back, ready for immediate use.

"Ready?" Hei asked.

"Absolutely," she replied.

Hei kick-started the bike and they were once again on their way. Hopefully, they would encounter a town or a village where they could obtain gas soon, or otherwise, Misaki thought ruefully, this was going to be a very short trip.


	3. Chapter 3 - Badlands

**Chapter 3 – Badlands **

Author's Note

For the benefit of several readers, I present to you chapter 3! I confess, it's a bit worrying how fast I'm rattling through this as, very unusually for me, I haven't actually completely finished writing the story. Admittedly, I have only about a chapter and a half to go, but I'm struggling to find computer time. I do have some holiday time coming up soon which I'm sure won't all be spent in tank museums and down the pub. Probably.

Huge thanks to my beta, Arnel, who once again spotted all the words I'd left out in my haste to type the story. I blame the heat here in England, honest.

* * *

"I think there's a village up ahead."

Misaki craned her neck around Hei in order to see what lay ahead. As he said, in the distance, a cluster of buildings could be seen. As they had only been travelling an hour or so since they broke camp, she was surprised to encounter any signs of civilisation so soon.

"Do you think it will be populated?" she yelled into his ear. Even from this distance, she could see the place looked pretty run down.

"Who knows?" he called back. "Just be ready in case there's trouble."

The bike rapidly covered the distance to the settlement over the broken tarmac of what clearly once was a major road. Although far better than the dirt track they had been travelling on, Hei still had to make some pretty sharp turns to avoid the numerous craters and potholes that littered their way. Even so, it was just a matter of minutes before they passed the first building in the village. It looked little more than an empty shell.

They continued on with Hei reducing his speed considerably. Misaki noted that there seemed to be quite a bit of disparity regarding the state of the buildings. They drove past a structure that was recognisable as a store only because a sign hung precariously from one ruined wall, while the next building, a bungalow with pink walls, seemed in pristine condition save for one broken window. There were, however, no immediate signs of life.

It was only when she glanced down a side street that Misaki noticed a person. She immediately tugged at Hei's arm and he circled back before heading down the narrow street she had indicated to him. There, sitting on the doorstep of a rundown, two-story house, was an old woman.

As Hei pulled the bike to a stop in front of her, the woman gave no sign that she had even noticed them. As they stared down at her, she looked, impassively, into the far distance. The old woman's skin was brown and weather-beaten, while her eyes seemed dead and lifeless. Her clothes, at least, seemed in reasonable condition, if rather dirty. She did, however, continue to ignore them.

"Excuse me," Hei called out in Japanese in the hope of eliciting some reaction.

"She probably doesn't understand our language," Misaki pointed out after pulling her facemask down. "Do you know any Spanish?"

"No, and as they all probably speak Portuguese here I doubt it would help," he retorted. "Before you ask, no, I don't know much Portuguese, either."

"Smart ass," she growled.

"Hey, Senhora," Hei shouted, tapping the fuel tank of the bike. "Gasoline, porfavor?"

Maybe it was the smattering of her own language or Hei's aggressive behaviour, but the old woman looked up at him. She regarded him for a moment, although her expression changed not one iota. Perhaps realising the man in front of her was dangerous, or maybe just wanting them to leave, she raised her arm and pointed further down the street.

"Gracias," Hei muttered and restarted the bike.

"Now, _that_ was Spanish," Misaki pointed out archly.

"Who cares? I don't think she was listening to us, anyway."

They continued down the street and straight over a crossroads. Misaki was beginning to think the old woman had deceived them, or perhaps misunderstood what they wanted when they happened on a large, squat structure with gas pumps situated outside. Looking at the dilapidated state of the place, it was doubtful those pumps worked, but perhaps there would be fuel available inside.

As they approached the garage, a punchy, ill-favoured man rose from his position in the shade and eyed them suspiciously. Hei stopped a few yards in front of him and turned off the engine.

"Do you speak Chinese?" he asked the man in his native language.

"Oh, yes. Here we are, in some run-down, destitute hovel in the middle of South America – they must have hundreds of people who speak Chinese," Misaki muttered.

"Hey, remember the number of Chinese relief workers and army there are around here. I guarantee that if the locals think they can get something out of it, they'll pretty soon start learning the language."

Hei's supposition was proved correct when the man's expression changed from suspicion to contempt. He walked back towards the garage and yelled something through the open door. A short while later, a large man with a thick, black beard and bare, muscular arms emerged. He looked the pair of them over once before sneering.

"What you want, Chinaman?" he demanded in barely passible standard Chinese. Misaki was by no means fluent in the language but knew enough to follow what was being said.

"I want to buy gas for the bike," Hei responded. "I can pay either in US Dollars or Chinese Renminbi."

"We don't have much call for paper money out here, Chinaman," the man told them, before his sneer turned to a leer, directed straight at her. "Give me a turn with the little lady and I might think about helping, though."

Misaki stiffened but Hei's restraining hand on her leg stopped her from reacting.

"That's not on offer," Hei countered. "With so many Chinese around, I find it hard to believe that you wouldn't have a use for their currency, though."

"Maybe I do have a use for it," the man agreed, "and perhaps I'll just take what I want."

As if prearranged, six other men immediately emerged from the building and formed a semicircle around the bike. Like the large man and his comrade, they all looked to be caked in dirt and sweat, the latter so strong that Misaki could smell them from where she sat. They were all in their twenties or thirties, she thought and were armed with a diverse mix of weaponry. Most ominously, one man carried a pump-action shotgun and another a small, primitive-looking submachinegun. A third had a pistol, but the other three had to make do with machetes and a baseball bat.

Misaki slid off the bike and slowly pulled her rifle off her back and readied it. She could see the look of surprise in the men's eyes, probably at the sight of such a modern weapon. Clearly, she could see the covetous expressions on their faces, which at least was better than the lustful look their leader had given her. Her thumb rested on the safety catch, ready to move it forward into the fully automatic position in a split second.

"Ooh, fancy gun," the leader mocked. "You make the woman defend you, do you, Mister Chinaman? What are you… some pussy?"

The men all grinned evilly, perhaps not understanding the words their leader had spoken but recognising the mocking tone. Hei, in response, flipped the stand for the bike and dismounted. He stood calmly facing the large man, his face as expressionless as that of the old woman they had encountered earlier.

"We're not looking for trouble, but if you think you can threaten us, you're making a big mistake."

"Pah, what you gonna do, Mister Chinaman? You and your little lady? What are you doing here, anyway? You damn sure aren't military, that's for sure. Are you aid workers who got lost, or something?"

Hei's expression didn't alter.

"Tell me," he asked, "if I said the word 'Contractor' to you, would it mean anything?"

Clearly, it did as the man's expression changed to one of horror immediately. Without warning, a wire flew from Hei's hand and wrapped itself around the man's throat. As he clutched at it helplessly, Hei leapt forward, moving so fast the men barely had time to blink and held his knife threateningly under the man's chin. An audible gasp came from the armed thugs.

Having seen Hei in action before, Misaki was less phased and took the opportunity to raise her weapon and point it at the man with the shotgun. The men all raised their weapons in response.

"Tell them to back down, pig," Hei snarled.

"Fuck you, Chinaman," the large man responded, only a second later to scream pitifully as Hei shot a bolt of electricity into his body.

"Tell your men to drop their weapons and back away, or I'll fry your brains. Got it?" Hei growled, the tone of his voice leaving no illusion that he meant it.

"O diabo!" the large man screamed, reverting to his own language, which brought an immediate reaction from his gang. As they began to back away in fear, Misaki realised that they not only knew what a Contractor was, they had given them a very fitting nickname.

"That's right, he's the devil!" she yelled at the cowering men. "Now, if you don't want him to eat your souls, you'd better drop those weapons."

As Hei's wire continued to constrict around the big man's throat, he began to flail his arms about and scream hoarsely at his men. Evidently, the message eventually got through as, one by one, they dropped their various weapons to the ground.

"Now, tell them to put their hands on their heads," Hei barked, "apart from that boy who had the baseball bat. He's to get us gasoline. Tell him that he has three minutes to get back out here with a can of gas or I'll start killing you all one after the other. Savvy?"

Hei loosened the wire sufficiently for the man to get his breath before he began yelling at the tall, gangly youth who had been carrying the bat. The boy stared at his boss stupidly, until a veritable storm of threats and curses sent him scampering back into the garage. Misaki, for her part, kept her weapon levelled at the remaining men, gesturing aggressively if any of them so much as twitched. She'd never been more ready or willing to shoot anyone in her life.

"One minute," Hei yelled after a while, no doubt to let the youth know he was on the clock. The tactic obviously worked, as he had not been forced to sound the passing of the second minute before the boy emerged, a red gas can in his hands.

"Tell him to put it on the ground and back away," Hei instructed the boss man. "Misaki, after the kid has moved, go and get the can. Make sure it is actually gas before you put any in the bike."

"How do I do that?" she protested.

"Smell it," he snarled back.

Feeling somewhat stupid, she retrieved the gas can while holding her rifle one-handed and maintaining her aim on the men. After she carried it back to the bike, she opened the cap and took a good sniff. It definitely smelt like gasoline to her.

"I think it's alright," she announced.

"Okay, go ahead and fill up the bike," Hei instructed before pressing his knife harder to the large man's throat. "If it turns out that gas it tainted in any way, I swear I will come back and kill you all. Do you understand?"

"No, no, it's good!" the man stammered. "Everyone knows that I'm the only man who can get gas around here. I have a deal with the Chinese aid workers, man. That's good Chinese gas, honest!"

"It better be… for your sake."

After some clumsy fumbling, Misaki managed to remove the gas cap from the bike and began pouring in the fuel, aided by a pull-out nozzle in the can itself. Soon, she emptied the entire can, which wasn't very large, admittedly, but she didn't believe the bike's gas tank was full.

"I don't think it's completely topped up," Misaki announced. "Do you think they've got any more?"

"No, no more!" the man wailed. "Gas is more valuable than gold in these parts. That's all I've got, I tell you!"

Hei paused for a split second.

"Is the bike mostly full?" he asked.

"Yeah, definitely, although there's still room for a bit more. If they have more gas we could just carry it with us," she suggested.

"It might be a bit awkward," he pondered. "Nah, let's go with what we've got."

"If you say so," she agreed. "What about food? Shall we get some food off these bastards?"

Hei actually looked amused. "Do you really want to think about what these guys eat out here? It would probably be rat meat… if you're lucky."

"Point taken."

"Okay, maggot," Hei told the squirming man. "Tell your boys to head back into the garage and close the door behind them. If we see a single face peeing out of a window my friend here will put a bullet through their skull."

The instructions were quickly relayed before the man turned his head to try and look Hei in the eye.

"What about me, man? You will let me go, right?"

"Yeah, if you behave yourself," Hei confirmed, before pulling on the wire and dragging the man towards the bike. He then uncoiled more of the thin cord, leaving the man effectively on a two-yard leash. Hei mounted the bike and signalled for Misaki to get on behind him.

"What you doing, man?" the gang leader demanded.

"Helping you lose some weight," Hei replied, gunning the engine. "Exercise is good for you, you know."

Keeping the man on the wire leash, he began to move off, gradually gaining speed. With a strangled cry, the thug began to run after the bike as fast as he could, clearly understanding that if he failed to keep up he would probably be throttled.

Misaki watched the big man desperately running after them when, just as it seemed the gasping thug would be strangled, the wire slipped from his neck and snapped back into Hei's hand. The man fell flat on his face and lay there for a second. Dimly, as the distance between them increased, Misaki saw that he had managed to raise himself to his knees and he was waving his fists angrily at them.

"What was that all about?" she demanded.

"If he was running behind us, it meant that none of his men could run out of the garage, pick up one of the guns, and try and shoot us in the back," Hei explained.

"Good reasoning," she agreed. "You were right about another thing, too. That fat pig could stand to lose some weight."

Misaki pulled her mask up over her nose, tightened her grip on Hei's middle and, almost before she realised it, they had left the desolate village behind.

* * *

"What do you think?" Misaki asked, squinting as the light of the evening sun blinded her.

"Looks fairly quiet, although that could be deceiving," Hei replied, sounding suspicious. "We don't have much choice, anyway. We're running out of food and this is the first major settlement that we've encountered."

She nodded, eyeing the city spread out in front of her distrustfully. After riding most of the day, they had crested the rise of a hill and suddenly found this urban sprawl laid out in front of them. They had paused to take stock before attempting to enter the city.

"Do you recognise where we are?" Misaki asked.

"No, in fact, I wasn't expecting to see a place this size for a while yet. We're still not that far from Heaven's Gate, after all. Still, this place doesn't look like it was too badly damaged in the blast."

"No, you're right," she agreed. "Do you think the locals will be friendly?"

"I doubt it," Hei replied. "The village we were at today was virtually the fiefdom of that fat oaf, so I can't imagine this place will turn out to be anymore more civilised. It is more likely to have the supplies we need, though."

"Agreed. I guess we have no choice other than to just ride into town and see what happens."

"Yeah, probably best we do that now when we still have some daylight to work with. We'll need to find somewhere to hole up for the night, as well as locating food and gasoline."

"Let's go then," she said decisively, walking back to where they'd left the bike.

A few moments later, they were riding down the hill towards the unnamed city. Despite the apparent calm, Misaki couldn't help but feel like they were heading straight into an ambush.

* * *

The bike made its way slowly down the wide street, moving at no more than ten or fifteen miles an hour. Now they were down amongst the buildings of the city, they could see that the shops and houses were in worse shape than they had seemed at a distance. There wasn't a single structure that didn't have at least one broken window and most had their doors broken down. More interestingly, there was absolutely no sign of life, be it human or animal.

"This place gives me the creeps," Misaki muttered into Hei's ear. "Someone must be around, somewhere."

"Perhaps they have a good reason for not revealing themselves," Hei reasoned.

"Maybe. Do you want to stop at any of these shops and see if they have any food?"

"I don't see the point. They all look like they've been pretty well looted," he pointed out. "Perhaps that's why no one is around. All the stores in this area of town have been emptied and there's no source of food."

"You could be right. Do we just keep on further into town?"

"I don't see we have any other choice."

Increasing the revs, Hei sped up slightly but was still moving at a speed that allowed them to carefully observe their surroundings. The deeper they moved into the city, the more the place began to look like a war zone.

"Look," Hei called out, pointing to what once must have been a small office block. "You can see bullet marks along the walls. I think that hole in the wall was made by an anti-tank rocket, too."

"Hei, I'm getting a ready bad feeling about… hey!"

Misaki screeched as, without warning, Hei gunned the engine of the bike and they shot forward. He then threw them into a tight right turn, followed by a left. Misaki was about to punch him in the back of the head and demand to know what he was doing when a familiar cracking sound reached her ears, followed by a thump. Someone was shooting at them.

"Damn, where's the fire coming from?" she yelled, trying to look in all directions at once.

"Two o'clock… the block of houses. Second-floor balcony, third from the left," he supplied, still manoeuvring the bike wildly.

Misaki snapped her head towards the place Hei had indicated and saw a small flash of light as the gunman fired again. This time the bullet impacted on the tarmac just a couple of feet away from them.

"I see him," Misaki yelled, pulling her rifle from her back and resting the barrel on Hei's right shoulder. "Drive straight and I'll get him next time he comes up to shoot."

"Don't miss," he snarled but did as he was instructed. He even slowed the bike slightly to reduce vibration.

Peering through the Aimpoint sight on her rifle, she lined the red dot at the spot she'd previously seen the muzzle flash. The bike was now only around two hundred yards from the housing block and the range was dropping rapidly. The sniper would have to emerge shortly if he wanted to get another shot in.

Misaki was proved right. Through the sight, she saw what looked to be a large, bearded man appear over the edge of the balcony and aim a hunting rifle in their direction. She was faster, however, firing two rounds rapidly at him. Both appeared to hit and the man slumped back out of sight.

"Good shooting," Hei praised her.

"No problem," she responded, feeling strangely unmoved by the incident. "Why the hell was that asshole even shooting at us? He doesn't have a clue who we are, after all."

"I suspect that area might belong to a specific gang and we're trespassing on their turf," he revealed. "I've heard rumors that most of the towns and cities within a few hundred miles of Heaven's Gate are essential gang run now. It probably explains why the area we came in through is deserted. It's probably on the boundary of two gang's territory and essentially a no-go zone."

"Great. So, we're heading into the middle of a gang war? Maybe this isn't such a good idea, Hei."

"We need food and water, not to mention gas. We need to go in further."

"Point taken, but it will be dark soon. I don't fancy cruising around some unfamiliar city full of mad gunman willing to shoot us on sight, especially as they'll hear us long before we see them."

"True. Let's find a place to hole up for the night. Let's start with that block the gunman was in. I expect it was an outer guard post for whatever gang runs this place. We might find some supplies."

"And more of his buddies might be there or at least come to find out what happened to him," she countered.

"It's a big building and only one person fired at us. If he has a few friends with him we'll easily take care of them. If more arrive I doubt they'll bother searching the whole place."

"I hope you're right," she muttered, far from convinced.

Hei drove around the back of the block and found a row of garages. As these all had their doors broken in, they decided not to risk leaving the bike there. Instead, he found the main entrance which was a set of double doors which he could easily drive through. An elevator was situated right in front of the entrance but, unsurprisingly, didn't work. Instead, they went through a side door and randomly selected a flat. The door to the apartment was broken and the place proved to be deserted, so Hei hid the bike in the bathroom, wedging it in the bathtub and covering it with a ripped shower curtain. They then headed back out of the room and to the central staircase.

Warily, they headed up to the second floor. Hei seemed to instructively know in which direction to head and they soon found the room that the gunman had fired from. This apartment didn't even have a door, and the place was completely bare of furniture save for a single wooden stool and a small coffee table. Moving out to the balcony, they found the body of their attacker sprawled out on the floor. Misaki had obtained a headshot, hitting the man just above his left eye.

"He seems to have been on his own," Hei noted, looking around before kneeling to examine the body. He quickly and thoroughly searched the corpse. "He's got a cell phone and a backup knife, but not much else."

"I'm surprised the phone works," Misaki replied. She had been to many crime scenes in her time and had seen many dead bodies, but she had never been the cause of any of them. She briefly wondered if she should have been more upset that she had just killed someone, but the fact that he'd been trying to shoot them overrode everything. This place was like a war zone, and it was kill or be killed. She learned that lesson when all the mercenaries she'd been travelling with had been massacred.

"I expect the Chinese have a phone network set up that covers this area," Hei reasoned. "Let's check the rest of the room to see if there's anything useful. Leave the gun, it's just a piece of junk. If we also leave the phone it might convince anyone who comes here that this guy was shot from a distance and no one is around."

"It's not like we'll be able to understand anything that's being said on it, even if we use it," Misaki agreed. "Hey, is that a backpack in the corner?"

Hei went and investigated the bag. After a brief search of its contents, he showed them to her.

"A few bottles of beer, some bread, a can of what looks like sardines, and a porn magazine."

"Ah, so he was a man of taste and sophistication, eh?" she smirked. "Let's grab the food and drink and get out of here… unless you want to keep the magazine, that is."

"No, I've read that issue before," he replied with a perfectly straight face. "It was pretty lame."

Misaki laughed out loud. "You know, I don't think I'll ever get used to the sense of humour you Contractors have."

"Yeah, well, you have to be pretty screwed up to do what we do, so it's no surprise our humour is a bit screwy, too. I expect it's the same for cops."

"I guess so," she agreed, glancing at the balcony where she could still see the legs of the dead man in plain sight. She still felt nothing.

"Let's head up a couple of floors and try and find an apartment that's not in too bad a shape," Hei suggested, clutching their new-found supplies. "We will need to set a watch tonight, I think."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. Still, we have beer and fish. What more could we want?"

"I'll give you a list," Hei murmured as he headed out the door.

* * *

A loud popping sound made Misaki wake with a start. She looked around in something of a panic but could see nothing in the dark. She grabbed her glasses and rammed them on her face. A few moments later, she remembered where she was and began to calm down. Rolling on to her side, she saw the profile of Hei, silhouetted against the night sky, sitting on the balcony.

The stillness was shattered again by the sound of gunfire, although to Misaki's experienced ears it sounded as if the fighting wasn't that close. Now wide awake, she pushed herself off the bed and made her way over to where Hei was sitting, making sure she hugged the wall.

"What's happening?" she asked quietly.

"There have been firefights all over the city ever since it got dark," he revealed. "There's only been shooting around here in the last half-hour, though. I've heard vehicles moving about, too. Oh, someone came into the building a few hours ago, probably checking up on our sniper. Whoever it was, they didn't try and come up any higher than the second floor and left after about ten minutes. I guess the guy getting killed isn't anything unusual around here."

Misaki glanced at her watch, which was battery-operated and had its own light, and saw that it would be her turn to stand watch in twenty minutes or so, anyway.

"I'm awake now so I might as well take over," she told him, pulling over a chair so she could sit and keep watch over the city.

"I'm not tired yet. I'll stay and watch with you, for a while."

They sat in silence for a while, watching the pinpricks of light flicker in the streets below. Occasionally, they could hear shouts and screams mixed in with the sound of gunfire.

"It's like a war down there," she noted. "Do you really think this is all the result of gangs fighting each other?"

"Yeah, I do," he confirmed. "There's a real mix of different weapons being used out there. I expect there's a lot of looted army stuff being used, but there are also shotguns and hunting rifles, not to mention a lot of pistols. Basically, they're using whatever they can get their hands on."

"I think you're right," she agreed, listening carefully. The two lapsed into silence again until Misaki's curiosity got the better of her. There was a question she'd been aching to ask him since they had met up again, but hadn't had the opportunity until this point. "Hei, can I ask you something?"

"What?"

"When you ran into me last time back in Tokyo, when you came after those kids, would you have killed me if that Suou girl hadn't stopped you?"

There was a long silence before he answered.

"You have to understand, I'd made the decision to protect both Suou and July at that point. If you'd have taken them into custody they both would have been dead within the hours, so, yes, I would have done anything to prevent that."

"I would have kept them safe…" she began.

"No, you wouldn't," Hei snapped, sounding as angry as she'd ever heard him. "As soon as you reported that you had those two to official sources you would have been signing their death warrant. Probably your own, too, if you'd tried to stop them."

She paused. As much as she wanted to deny his words, she'd seen what Japan had become. There were too many powerful people who would have wanted July and Suou dead. There was no way that she could have prevented that.

"Do you really think they're still alive, living on that fake Earth?" she asked, deciding to change the subject slightly.

"Yes."

"What about your partner, that Doll, Yin. Is she there, too?"

"No, Yin is dead. I don't want to talk about it."

Despite him trying to hide it, the pain was evident in Hei's voice as he spoke. It was said that Contractors were all emotionless killing machines, but the more time she spent around him the more she realised that he did display his feelings very openly, but only if you knew what to look for. The fact that he'd arrived in South America seemingly without a clear plan of what to do after he found the gate worried her. He'd latched onto this new mission handed to him by some strange girl he'd never met before almost eagerly.

Had he been that desperate to put some kind of purpose back into his life?

The two of them continued to maintain their vigil in silence with the sound of gunfire echoing all around them. No further words were spoken by either of them that night.


	4. Chapter 4 – City of the Damned

**Chapter 4 – City of the Damned **

AN

Sorry, I'm a few days late with this chapter. Blame the sunshine and the fact I've been enjoying the first few days of my annual leave too much. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this rather brutal chapter.

Thanks, as always, to Arnel for beta work and spotting all the words that I occasionally leave out for no good reason.

* * *

Misaki awoke to find a familiar and welcome smell filling her nostrils. Blearily opening her eyes, she saw Hei standing over her with a chipped mug in his hand. Gratefully, she accepted it and inhaled the rich aroma of coffee. It was in all probability cheap instant crap but, at that exact moment, it was like manna from the gods.

"Found an unopened jar in one of the other apartments," Hei revealed. "That was about the only useful thing I did find. This place has been stripped bare."

"Did you sleep much?" she asked. They'd swopped sentry duties several times in the night, although she strongly suspected that he had allowed her to have far more sleep than he had taken. That was definitely something she would have to put a stop to.

"I slept enough," he confirmed and, indeed, he looked perfectly rested, if rather unshaven.

"What's the plan for today?" Misaki asked, sipping her coffee.

"I think we should leave the bike hidden here and search the area on foot. Judging from the gunfire last night, I think I have a pretty good idea where at least one of the gangs is based. I got the impression that there is a defended site just over the other side of that small river to the north."

"Really? I'm surprised you were able to make any sense of that mess last night," she snorted. The gunfire had been constant throughout the night, slacking only around four in the morning. She'd seen fires burning, too, but only in the far distance.

"I'm sure that I've seen more firefights in my time than you," he countered mildly.

"You make it sound like that's a good thing," Misaki grumbled. "By the time this is all over I hope I'll never have to pick up a gun again."

"Doubtful, we still have to find your father and bust him out of jail," he reminded her. "I suspect that will involve some shooting."

"Can we just concentrate on getting out of South America first?" she begged. "So, we're going to do some scouting on foot. That sounds like a good idea."

"It might actually be better if I go alone."

"No, absolutely not," Misaki snapped. "Aside from the fact that I'm a highly trained police officer with years of experience on the street, us separating would be a really dumb idea. What would I do if something happened to you? How long would I wait? Where would I begin to look for you? Besides, I haven't got a clue how to drive a bike, so I can't afford to let anything happen to you."

"Nice to know I'm so appreciated," Hei replied stoically. "Still, you make some good points. However, if we encounter a situation that requires it, I will need you to stay in one place while I go on ahead. I can go places you can't and move stealthily. I don't want there to be an argument if it comes to that."

"As long as I know where you're going and can keep watch," she insisted. "I can provide sniper cover if you have to go in close to a target."

"Fair enough. Finished your coffee? Good, let's go."

They walked out of the block of flats and headed north. They'd only travelled a few blocks when Misaki began to doubt her decision to tag along. Although she was a trained policewoman and had undertaken many covert operations, it was clear she was a rank amateur in moving stealthily compared to Hei.

She watched him as he led the way, moving with all the grace and fluidity of a big cat. He didn't so much move between positions of cover, rather he flowed like liquid, constantly moving yet able to blend in with his surroundings effortlessly. In comparison, she felt like some circus clown, flailing around in oversized boots and attracting the attention of all. Trying to be useful, Misaki allowed herself to drop a good ten yards behind him, ready to give fire support with her rifle if they hit trouble. She had little doubt Hei would spot an ambush long before she did.

Despite her concerns, they moved through the shabby, deserted streets without trouble. They soon encountered the small river that Hei had spotted earlier and took it in turns crossing over a small footbridge. It was only after they were on the other side that he beckoned her to him.

"Okay, the building I think is a gang strongpoint is just around the corner," he advised. "I'm going to try and infiltrate it by myself. I want you to enter this house and find a window where you can observe. Once I'm done, I'll come and find you. Remember, don't shoot unless I come running out of that place with a dozen gang members on my heels. Okay?"

"Yeah, I guess so. Just be careful."

"I'm a Contractor. I'm always careful."

And with that stark reminder, Hei vanished around the corner. Her first instinct was to peer around the corner of the building to see where he'd gone, but she resisted it. Instead, she sought out the entrance of the house Hei had indicted and quickly found the stairs. After a very brief search, Misaki found a room that overlooked Hei's target. Being careful not to silhouette herself, she found a position from which she could see out.

It was painfully obvious which building was the gang's headquarters. The place was a long, squat structure that appeared to feature a large courtyard at its centre. Barbed wire had been strung all along the tops of the walls and all exterior windows had been boarded up. Just visible on the far side of the building was a large, heavy door obviously designed for trucks, suggesting that in better times the place had been a factory or distribution centre. In its present form, however, it made for an excellent fortified base and she began to worry that Hei might struggle to gain entry. Just as quickly, she dismissed the thought. She'd seen him operate before, he'd find a way.

She had just settled down to her vigil when she was surprised by the large front gates opening and a group of men emerging. At first, she feared that Hei had been caught, especially as the group seemed to be holding a bound, gagged man in their midst, but she quickly realised that the person being held was a young man, probably in his teens, and judging by his ragged clothes was a local.

Intrigued and rather worried, Misaki darted to the far side of the room so she had a better view of the group of men. After some milling about, the bound teenager was pushed to the ground while the gang members surrounded him. Her view was momentarily blocked by the wall of bodies but even from her remote position, she could hear the shouting and jeers of the men. Shouldering her rifle, she used the optical sight to get a better view.

For a while, nothing appeared to be happening, although she couldn't actually see the bound teenager. After a while, though, the group shifted and some new men emerged from the compound to join the group. Misaki tensed as she saw the newcomers were all holding baseball bats or pickaxe handles.

Briefly, she got a glance of the prisoner who had by now been dragged to his knees. The young man's shoulders were shaking and Misaki was sure he was crying. Her view was then again blocked by the shuffling bodies, causing her to grind her teeth in frustration.

The violence started almost without warning. One of the group suddenly lunged forward, swinging a bat above his head. He slammed it down, but Misaki couldn't see what it contacted with, although she had little doubt. Like a dam bursting, the rest of the group immediately began to join in. Like a pack of wolves, they began to surge forward, their weapons rising and falling rapidly, all aimed at the unseen target. The beating went on solidly for a good five minutes.

Eventually, the mob began to disperse somewhat, giving Misaki a clear view of their victim. Unsurprisingly, the youth was sprawled on the ground, unmoving. Blood could be seen pooling around his body and, even from her remote location, she could clearly see how badly twisted and broken the young man's limbs were. Almost subconsciously, she aimed her rifle at one of the retreating men who was holding a club. Her thumb pushed the safety catch from the safe position to semi-auto and she lined the red dot sight up carefully on the man's back…

She stopped. Hei was still probably in that building and if she opened fire she would no doubt alert the whole compound. With gritted teeth, she lowered her weapon and reapplied the safety catch.

The original group of men had by now grabbed the dead youth by the arms and were dragging him away, probably to leave somewhere that whatever rival gang the boy had belonged to would find it. She tried to rationalise her actions to herself. She was no longer a policewoman and this wasn't Japan. She had no reason to interfere with anything here and, besides, there was no saying that the youth hadn't committed some terrible crime of his own to warrant execution.

Bitterly, Misaki turned away and slumped against the wall, no longer able to see the dreadful scene out of the window. As she did so, a thought struck her, something that had been on the edge of her consciousness for a while but had remained unformed in her brain.

Truly, she hated this place, with every bone in her body.

She was a cop and her role in life was to enforce law and order. This unruly wasteland was an anathema to her. She desperately missed the bustling but orderly streets of her homeland. True, Tokyo had a dark underbelly but it rarely intruded on the organised and productive city, and even the hardened criminals knew what rules they had to work by. This town, however, was an affront to everything she held dear.

Tired, hungry, and dispirited, Misaki sat propped up against the wall, waiting for the one person who gave her any hope in this whole rotten cesspool to return.

* * *

She was pleased that she at least had the professionalism to raise her rifle when she heard footsteps coming up the stairs. She had no doubt that it was Hei returning, but she knew he would be angry if she didn't at least appear alert when he found her.

Moments later, Hei entered the room clutching a pair of plastic shopping bags in his hand. He looked at her expressionlessly, but she couldn't help but think that he knew exactly what she'd seen and what effect it was having on her. His dark blue eyes seemed to burn right through her, but she couldn't meet his gaze.

"We hit the jackpot," he eventually said. "That compound is equipped with everything we need: food, clean water, fuel. They have a number of 4x4 vehicles in there that they keep fuelled and ready to go. Trouble is, the place was crawling with people. There were woman and children in there, as well as gang members. It looks like they moved their families into one defensible position and then made sure it was well stocked. I'd have taken more, but I would have been spotted."

"What did you manage to get?"

"Some food and bottled water. Most of it has either Chinese or English writing on it, so I expect most of their stuff comes from relief agencies."

"Okay, so that will last us a few days, but what about fuel for the bike? How are we going to get out of here without that?" she asked.

"Oh, don't get me wrong. What I stole was just to keep us going today," he explained. "I intend to go back in there in the early hours of tomorrow morning and take one of those vehicles after filling it with as much spare food and gas as I can get in it."

"What?" Misaki exclaimed. "But how? You said it yourself, the place is crawling with people and they appear to be armed to the teeth. You'll never get away with it."

"Yeah, but remember last night? About three in the morning the gunfire slackened right off and by four the whole town is silent. I'm betting that they have fallen into pretty much a routine here, with those early hours being a respite between the battles at night and then things picking up again around dawn. If I go in then, I expect all I'll find is a few sleepy sentries and I'm sure I can deal with them."

From his tone, Misaki was certain that Hei intended to kill anyone who was unfortunate enough to get in his way. After witnessing the beating to death of the youth, she found she couldn't bring herself to care too much about that.

"The vehicles are all kept in a motor pool near the main gate," Hei continued. "If I take down the guards, it should be easy to get the gate open and drive out before they even realise what's happening. We'll then drive back the way we came out of this city so, hopefully, we won't end up trying to travel through any more gang-held territory."

She thought about it. The bike had been a great means of getting away from the Chinese soldiers, but it lacked the ability to carry any supplies, meaning they would always be having to look for food and fuel. A well-stocked 4x4 should carry them all the way to Chile without having to stop again. It would also mean she could share the driving, too. The downside, of course, was that getting the vehicle meant fighting through a horde of murderous thugs.

"Okay, how are we going to do this?" she asked, making up her mind.

"I've found an easy route into the compound," he revealed. "I'll slip inside and take care of whatever guards there are on the gate. I'll then open it a little to allow you to come in. It will be your job to hold the gate until I've loaded up a suitable vehicle. Once we've done that, we throw open the gates and drive out. If we do it quietly, hopefully, no one will even realise there's a problem. At least, not until daylight."

"It sounds so easy," she scoffed. "Still, I don't think we have any other option. I take it we'll rest up now until it's time to launch our assault?"

"Yeah, we'll eat and then take turns getting some more sleep. Once we drive out of that compound I don't intend to stop until this stinking city is completely out of sight."

"I'm glad you have the same opinion of it that I do," she agreed. "Come on, let's head back to our luxurious abode."

* * *

Peering carefully around the corner of the building, Misaki pulled the butt of her rifle tighter to her shoulder and took a deep breath. Moving as fast as she could, she sprinted across the street, hoping that she remained unseen in the darkness. In her mind's eye, she could see various gang members aiming their weapons at her and she cringed at the thought that any moment bullets might start ripping through her body.

Almost before she realised it, she reached the gate. Trying to breathe as quietly as she could, she flattened herself against the large doors and listened intently. Apart from some distant gunfire coming from somewhere else in the city, she could hear nothing. Hopefully, that meant Hei had been successful.

The day had been spent relaxing. They'd had a decent meal using the food Hei had 'liberated' during his first visit to the compound and they'd taken turns sleeping. Despite the heat and her concerns about the risks they would have to take in the early hours of the next day, she slept surprisingly well. Perhaps it had been the stress she'd been under for the last few days, not to mention the constant travel, but she'd been asleep the second she laid her head down. The fact that she knew Hei was diligently standing guard nearby also might have helped.

All too soon, it had been time to leave their temporary sanctuary and head back to the compound. They had at first headed for the house from which Misaki had witnessed the brutal execution of the unknown youth and Hei had instructed her to give him a twenty-minute head start before she headed towards to the gates. She'd voiced concern that seemed an extraordinarily long time, but he'd just told her that he didn't want to end up rushing and making a mistake before he vanished into the night.

Those twenty minutes had been the longest in Misaki's life. She constantly checked her watch even as she warily watched the compound looking for any signs of activity. The seconds dragged into minutes until she realised it was time to move. There had been a fair bit of open ground to cover to get to the gates, but she'd made it without anyone apparently seeing her. Now she just had to wait.

"You can come in," a voice whispered, causing her to jump out of her skin. Spinning around, she saw Hei's face peering out from between the partially open gates. Trying to calm her beating heart, she slipped between the gates which Hei immediately closed again. He gestured for her to follow him before stealthily moving into the darkened compound.

Misaki couldn't see much of the interior of the compound. Naturally, there was no mains electricity in this ruined city and this gang didn't even appear to own a generator. Apart from a few candles burning in windows on the far side of the courtyard, everything was shrouded in darkness. Hei, however, seemed untroubled by this and moved confidently. Dark shapes loomed out of the black night and Misaki eventually realised that they were vehicles. Hei led her to a jeep-like car with a hard top.

"Give me a hand loading stuff in the back," Hei told her quietly. "I've found several cans of gas which should keep us going, but I'll need to go back to where they store the food to get supplies from there."

"Should we risk it?" she asked, helping him lift one of the jerry cans into the vehicle.

"We need supplies, otherwise we'll have to end up foraging in every shithole city like this that we come across. Don't worry, you stay hidden in the car and I'll take care of it."

They loaded the other two cans Hei had found before he again disappeared off into the darkness. Feeling extremely vulnerable, Misaki opened the door on the passenger side as quietly as she could, before slinking down as low as she could. Should a guard walk by it was highly unlikely that they would ever see her.

The wait was agonising. She jumped at every noise she heard and clutched her rifle as if her life depended on it. Once she thought she saw someone walk by several yards away, but whoever it was didn't stop and afterwards she wasn't even certain if she'd seen anyone or had just imagined it. Silently cursing, she told herself to get a grip. She was an experienced policewoman who had taken part in many dangerous operations. On the other hand, she'd seen how these people dealt with their enemies and she had few illusions as to what would happen to her if they were captured.

She almost cried with relief when she saw Hei's form approaching the vehicle. She'd known it was him instantly, no one moved like he did, even if he was heavily laden with what looked like two large sacks. Quickly, she leapt from the car and went to help him.

"We need to get out of here fast," he told her quietly. "There were more guards than last time and I can't imagine it will be long before their bodies are discovered."

"Okay, how do you want to play this?"

"I'll head to the gate and open it. As soon as you see the doors open, you start the vehicle and head over. Don't turn on the lights. Stop as soon as you're out of the compound and I'll get in. Then, we get the hell out of here."

"Good plan. Let's do it," she agreed, helping him place the supply sacks in the back of the vehicle and quickly getting into the driving seat. The keys were in the ignition as no doubt Hei had already checked, so she was ready to go. She watched intently in the direction he had headed, waiting for the gates to open.

Simultaneously, several things happened at once. Firstly, and most welcomingly, she saw something move in the darkness and quickly realised it was the gates being opened. Less desirably, there came a loud shout from somewhere on the other side of the courtyard, which was answered by several other cries. No doubt the guards' bodies had been found.

Not wasting another second, she turned the key in the ignition and was relieved when the engine immediately leapt into life. The vehicle, which she now realised was a Toyota Land Cruiser of some make, was manual transmission but that didn't faze her in the slightest. She slammed it into gear, took off the handbrake, and gunned the car towards the gate.

As she spun the wheel and floored the accelerator, she heard a strange 'tick-tick' noise coming from the back of the Land Cruiser, like someone was throwing pebbles at the car. She glanced in the rearview mirror and realised that someone was firing at her. Gritting her teeth, she drove on, hoping that whoever was shooting wouldn't be able to see her clearly in the dark.

The open gateway loomed up quickly and she drove right through, before throwing the vehicle into a tight handbrake turn to the right. A flash of bluish light suddenly flared to one side, followed by a scream. She immediately understood that Hei had just used his Contractor powers and that some gang member must have gotten too close. Well, too bad for him. A moment later, Hei appeared out of nowhere and leapt into the passenger seat.

"Drive!"

Not needing a second telling, she hit the gas again and roared forward. Through the open window, she could hear shots being fired, but none of the fire appeared to be landing anywhere close to them.

"How long before they come after us?" she yelled, grimacing as the Land Cruiser lurched as it hit a pothole.

"Quite a while. I took the keys out of all the other vehicles and threw them down a storm drain," he revealed. "Once we're out of range of their gunfire, you can probably slow down some."

"Hei, you are a genius," she exclaimed, actually laughing out loud.

"No, I'm a Contractor. We just have a strong personal survival sense. I doubt those thugs would have pursued us very far from their territory, but I didn't want to take the chance."

"So, do you think we now have enough food and fuel to make it to Chile?"

"Should do, if we're careful. Things should get better the closer we get to the border, anyway. Even so, we can now avoid the larger settlements so we shouldn't have to get caught up in this kind of crap."

"Amen to that," she agreed passionately, her eyes glued to the road. "Still, I'm actually kind of sorry to have had to leave the bike. I mean, it was uncomfortable, I constantly got dust in my eyes and mouth, and we couldn't really carry anything on it, but it did get us out of a hole, didn't it?"

"Are you sure you're not just upset that you haven't got an excuse to put your arms around me all the time?"

She glanced at him, shocked. Even in the pale light, she could see the amusement in his eyes.

"I think I'll manage fine without having to do that," she told him tartly. It had been one of the main reasons she was sorry to lose the bike, but he didn't need to know that.

"Don't worry, I was joking," he told her.

"You know, you Contractors have got a really screwy sense of humour, you know that?"

"Probably," he agreed mildly.

For some reason, that simple answer set them both off into helpless peals of laughter.


	5. Chapter 5 – Borderline

**Chapter 5 – Borderline**

 **AN**

Not a huge amount to say about this chapter, although we are nearly back to civilisation and away from my Mad Max inspired ramblings.

Huge thanks to Arnel, as always, for her wonderful beta work.

* * *

"Hei, over there! Turn right!"

Misaki's sudden cry made Hei look around in alarm. In concern, he checked the mirrors and peered out of all the windows, but no threat was immediately apparent.

"What are you…" he began.

"I said turn right!" she insisted. "There's a track just over by those trees. Head down that."

Mystified, Hei did as he was told and steered the Land Cruiser in the direction he was bid. He soon found himself heading down a narrow track which led down to a reasonably large lake. All too soon, he found the road had given out and he halted the vehicle at the edge of the glistening water.

"Why did you order me to come down here?" he demanded.

"Are you blind? Look, right in front of you, there's a lake," she exclaimed. "I haven't had a proper wash in days. It's high time we bathed."

"That's it? You stopped us in the middle of a long and dangerous journey so you can take a bath? Have you gone insane?"

"Don't be ridiculous," she scoffed. "Since we got this vehicle we've been making good time. We'll be in Chile in a day or so. We can spare half-an-hour or so to get cleaned up. Imagine what people will think if we roll up in this state. We'll attract far too much attention."

That, at least, was something he couldn't refute. Neither of them had the chance to wash properly since they'd met up near Heaven's Gate. Both of them were caked in dust, dirt, and not a little blood. Misaki did have a point. Plus, she was also right about them covering a lot of distance. They'd been able to share driving and the robustness, not to mention effective headlights, of their new transport, meant they'd been able to continue moving long after darkness fell. If they'd tried that on the bike they would probably have killed themselves at the first pothole they encountered.

"Okay, I guess we can spare a little time," he grudgingly allowed.

"I'm glad you agree," she said in a tone that left Hei in no doubt that his opinion was quite irrelevant. "Now, I want you to go and sit on the other side of the Land Cruiser, keeping watch. Oh, and I'll be keeping my rifle with me so don't even think of trying to take a peek at me while I'm bathing."

"I'm an experienced Contractor," he snarled. "I've killed more men than I can remember. Do you really think I'd get my rocks off sneaking a glance at you washing?"

"You're also a guy, which means I trust you as far as I can throw you. Just remember what a good shot I am."

She mimed putting a bullet through his skull with her fingers before moving to retrieve her small wash kit from her backpack. Hei shook his head in disbelief but nevertheless took a seat on the ground with his back to the rear wheel of the Land Cruiser, meaning he was most definitely facing away from the lake.

Satisfied, Misaki, armed with the wash kit that had hardly been used in over a week, walked towards the lake and found a suitable place to enter the water. She dipped her hand in, wincing at how cold the water was, but the desire to get even partially clean far outweighed a little discomfort. She placed her rifle on the ground within easy reach, along with her glasses, and began to disrobe.

Despite her warning, she had few concerns that Hei would try to spy on her. Even so, they had no idea if anyone else was around so keeping her weapon handy was still a good idea. The area around the lake was truly beautiful, but complacency was dangerous.

Stripping off her boots, socks (dear God, how bad did they smell?), vest-top and her combat pants, she paused, wondering whether to take off her underwear as well. It only took a second to decide, however, mostly as she was uncomfortably aware of how much dust she had had in her knickers. Really, how did so much of it get down there?

Swiftly, she removed her remaining garments and gingerly stuck a foot into the water. She gasped out loud at the shock, but bravely lowered the rest of her leg in. Once she'd become accustomed to the temperature a little, she climbed in and submerged herself in the water completely. It was best to get the shock over with quickly, she decided. Spluttering, she surfaced and wiped the water out of her eyes. Really, once you were in, it really wasn't too bad.

"How's the water?" Hei's voice called out from behind the vehicle.

"Cold, but refreshing," she revealed, reaching for the small bar of unscented soap that was in her wash kit. "You'll be finding out, soon enough. You're starting to smell pretty ripe, so you'll be in here next. If you have a razor with you, get rid of that beard you're growing, too. It really doesn't suit you."

Hei mumbled something she didn't quite catch, although she thought she heard the words 'future', 'husband', and 'pity' in there somewhere.

"Like I'll ever have time for a husband," she snorted in disgust as she started to wash. "I'll count myself lucky if I'm still alive tomorrow, never mind about anything else."

"I guess that's true," he agreed.

A thought occurred to Misaki and she realised that she knew very little about the lives of Contractors. As she had the genuine article right here with her, she should take the opportunity to learn more.

"So, do Contractors never marry, then? Not even as deep cover, or something?"

"I've never heard of anything like that," he said dismissively. "I did meet a couple of Contractors who were married with a kid, though. Just the once."

"Really? They were allowed to do that?" she gasped.

"I wouldn't exactly say they were allowed, but they did it anyway. Not that it ended up well for them. They were killed, along with the whole settlement they were living in. Butchered, in the name of whatever sick game it is that we're all playing."

"That's… sad," Misaki said sadly.

"I suppose so," Hei agreed grudgingly. "What about you? You're intelligent and beautiful. Why haven't you got a husband yet?"

"Married to my career, I guess," she pondered. "At least, I was. That's all gone now, of course. It's funny, for years all I thought about was my job. My friend, Kanami, I think you met her once, she always used to nag me because I never dated. It didn't seem so important back then. I mean, I had a great job that I loved, a nice car, and a really nice apartment. Suddenly, all that was gone and I realised even the people I thought of as good friends were really just work colleagues. That's kinda depressing, you know."

"Do you wish that you'd stayed in the police force, then? Do you regret the choices you've made?"

"No, no I don't," she responded passionately. "The police are just puppets of our American overlords now, and I for one would never stoop so low as to work for them. If we're ever going to make our homeland our own again, sacrifices have to be made. There's just too many people willing to turn Hell's Gate into some weapon and Contractors into killing machines out there. We need to stand and fight."

"Very admirable."

"You don't sound convinced," Misaki noted.

"I guess I'm just too cynical to believe in those kind of high ideals any more," he sighed. "I mean, it's not just the Americans that want to use Gate technology for their own ends, the Chinese do, too, not to mention the Brits, the Indians, the French… hell, there isn't a country on the face of this planet that isn't after something. All of them have armies and intelligence agencies trying to grab whatever they can. The world is a mess, Misaki, and it isn't getting any better."

"So what would you do? Just give up?"

"Weren't you listening?" he growled. "I'm a Contractor and everyone just sees me as a tool. No matter if it's the FBI, MI5, or the FSB… I would never have the option of giving up. No matter how well I hid, they would find me and I know that from experience. They would force me to do their bidding and hurt anyone around me if I refused. I never had the option of a wife, a white-picket fence house and a couple of kids. Never. You may not have that either at the moment, but one-day things might change and you can settle down. Me? The only thing I have to look forward to is to see everyone I ever cared about killed and the luxury of an early grave."

"Hei, that Doll you were with… what happened to her?"

"Don't talk about Yin," he snarled angrily. "Don't ever even mention her name!"

"Is she… dead?" Misaki asked with a typical policeman's skill for intrusive questions.

"She's gone. She's gone and she's never coming back."

"I'm sorry," Misaki mumbled.

"Don't worry about it," he grunted. "None of it was your fault and at least you're trying to make the world a better place. That puts you above 99.9% of people in my book."

"Thank you. Look, I'm nearly done here. Let me just rinse myself off and dry out a bit, then you can take a bath, too. Trust me, it will make you feel better."

She was rewarded only with a grunt in reply, so she began to rinse off the soap lather from her body and hair. It only then occurred to her that she'd conducted all of that difficult conversation with Hei stark naked and up to her waist in water. These were definitely strange times!

Pondering for a second, she grabbed her underwear and quickly washed them in the lake water. She wouldn't be able to wear them for a while, but that shouldn't matter. She even washed her only pair of socks, content that she could go barefoot until it was her turn to drive again. She then pulled herself up onto the bank and began to dry herself as best she could. Fortunately, it was a hot day so putting her clothes on over her wet body wasn't an issue. She dressed, picked up her rifle, wash kit, and wet underwear, and made her way to the Land Cruiser. She found Hei still propped up against the back wheel having apparently not moved an inch.

"Okay, your turn," she told him. "Don't forget the beard."

With a grunt, he stood and went to retrieve the small pack he'd always carried with him, before heading towards the lake. Despite her insistence on her own privacy, she lingered and watched him as he marched down to the water's edge and began to disrobe. Only when he began to lower his pants did her cheeks blush red and she dropped out of view.

Having found the previous conversation uncomfortable, Misaki refrained from any more small talk while Hei washed. She listened to sound of splashing water and admitted to herself that she would have been lying if she didn't fantasise about him standing waist deep in the water, rubbing soapy lather over his body. Well, a little fantasy never hurt anybody.

Hei finished his ablutions far faster than she did and, to Misaki's distraction, appeared before her wearing only his pants and boots, and with his hair wet. Her fantasies had barely done him justice, she realised.

"Are you okay to keep driving?" she asked trying to drive her mind back to more important matters.

"Sure," he agreed. "You might want to take your bra and panties off the hood of the car, though. They're kind of distracting."

"Oh? From what you said, I wouldn't think you'd be bothered by that sort of thing," she challenged.

"I said that Contractors don't have the choice to get married or have long-term relationships," he corrected her, moving to stand a little too close to her for comfort. "I never said that we don't have physical needs and desires that have to be satisfied occasionally."

"Oh… my mistake," she gulped.

"Get your stuff. It's time we got back on the road," he told her, climbing in the driver's seat.

As Misaki gathered up her belongings, she was sure she saw a smirk on Hei's face.

* * *

"We can't be far from the border now, can we?" Misaki asked her eyes firmly on the road ahead. The fact that it was an undamaged, tarmacked road perhaps hinted that they were now moving beyond the areas worse affected by the disaster at Heaven's Gate.

"About fifty kilometers or so, I would guess," he replied. "We mustn't let our guard down, though. I've heard those gangs frequently mount raids into areas less damaged on the edge of the devastated zone. I'll only be happy once we're in Chile."

"Will we have trouble getting through?" she asked. "I've heard that the border is heavily protected and it's not like we have passports or papers with us."

"I'll just talk to them in Chinese and they're bound to let us in," Hei assured her. "China has too much influence in this part of the world now for them to risk pissing off one of their nationals. I doubt they'll spot the difference between a Japanese and Chinese person, either."

"Okay, once we get there I'll become an honouree Chinese woman and… say, is that a dust cloud behind us?"

Hei swivelled in his seat to look behind him. He stared intently for a moment before he turned back to face Misaki.

"Something just pulled onto the road behind us," he told her. "I can't see what yet but judging by the dust cloud they kicked up there must be a lot of them."

Misaki started to accelerate.

"Whoever it is, I'm guessing that they won't be friendly."

"I think you're right," he agreed. "Maybe we can lose them."

With one eye always on her rear-view mirror, Misaki floored the accelerator and tried to coax more speed from the Land Cruiser. Unfortunately, this was not a vehicle designed for rapidity and she could see the dust cloud moving ever closer to them.

"They're gaining on us," Hei announced. "Can't you go any faster?"

"We're at the top limit," she shot back. "Can you see who it is that's following us yet?"

"Yeah, looks like a biker gang. I'd guess that there's maybe twenty or thirty of them. I assume this close to the border there are rich pickings for them, especially if they don't mess with the Chilean armed forces."

"Great, modern-day highwaymen. I think these guys have watched Mad Max one too many times," she grumbled.

"Never seen it."

"Well, if we get out of this alive I'll treat you to a movie night. I'll even supply the popcorn."

"Sound like fun," he agreed. "Do you want to swop over so you can use your rifle?"

"No, I'm pretty confident that I'm the better driver and, besides, I have a few tricks up my sleeve. You might want to put your seatbelt on for a while."

"If you say so," he agreed and instantly clicked the restraint into place. Misaki mentally gave her stoic companion bonus points for trusting her and doing as he was told without asking any stupid questions. If only all men were like that.

Something impacted against the vehicle with a metallic ping. They both knew by this point that meant that someone was shooting at them.

"Some of the bikes are carrying passengers," Hei informed her, angling the wing mirror to monitor the gang's approach. "I see a few rifles and the odd shotgun, but they don't look to be that well-armed. They're about a hundred yards behind us now."

"Okay, get ready to brace," Misaki instructed him, before slamming on the brakes.

This was the last thing the motorcycle gang had been expecting and most of them swerved wildly to avoid the Land Cruiser. Several of them lost control of their bikes and were sent skidding across the road, while one bike clipped the back of the vehicle, knocking the rider clean off.

Not pausing for a second, Misaki slammed the Land Cruiser into low gear and hit the accelerator. She also threw the wheel hard to the left, smashing into several of the bikers and causing the others to scatter. A shotgun fired but only cracked the front windshield without breaking the glass. Ruthlessly, she continued to drive straight at any of the bikes she could see, knocking gang members flying in all directions.

As effective a tactic as it was, it couldn't last. After she hit a bike head-on, causing its rider to scream in agony as his leg was crushed, the motorcycle became trapped underneath their front suspension. The Land Cruiser ground to a halt.

"My turn," Hei announced and leaped out of the passenger door, knife in hand. Misaki grabbed her rifle and bailed out, too.

If the gang thought they now had the advantage, they would soon find themselves sadly mistaken. Misaki had seen Hei fight several times before, but she'd never quite had such a grandstand view of him pitted against so many opponents. The first gang member died with his throat cut before he even realised what was happening. Before his body hit the ground, Hei had spun away and his wireline had wrapped around another thug's arm. The man screamed as electricity surged through his body, frying him instantly. There was an audible gasp from the other gang members who perhaps now were beginning to comprehend that they'd picked the wrong car to ambush.

Misaki had only a moment to watch Hei at work as the moment she stepped out of the vehicle a thug lunged at her wielding a tire iron. She raised her M-4 and pumped two rounds squarely into the man's chest. He crumpled to the ground, his weapon clanging on the hard road surface. A second gang member came at her from the right and he shared his comrade's fate with a bullet in the chest and a second in the upper stomach.

Seeing no more threats on this side of the vehicle, Misaki spun and aimed over the hood of the car. Hei had been busy while she took care of the two bikers and she could see bodies were littered across the road. Whilst the gang hugely outnumbered them, and several of them possessed firearms, their own numbers appear to have inhibited them as Hei darted amongst them, never stationary for more than a second. This meant that the men with guns never managed a clear shot at him, although this didn't stop one idiot with a submachine gun from firing several long bursts, although he only succeeded in hitting several of his own gang members. Misaki aimed and took him down with a single headshot, no doubt to everyone's relief.

By now, the few gang members still standing had grasped that they were badly outmatched. Several began to run to their bikes in an attempt to escape. One lurched backward as Hei's wire caught him around the throat and another fell to Misaki's well-aimed fire, but three more reached their discarded bikes and desperately kick-started them into life. She aimed her rifle at them in case they tried to run over Hei, but as they immediately headed off in the opposite direction, heading towards the border, she let them go. There were a number of even more fortunate men who were on the other side of the Land Cruiser who were able to get on their bikes and head back the way they had come at speed.

As the fighting stopped, Misaki was able to take a deep breath. She could see at least twenty bodies lay sprawled on the road, including the three she had shot at close range. A number of the others must have been taken out as she used the Land Cruiser as an offensive weapon, meaning she had killed a large share of the gang herself. This was certainly not how she imagined her life would be when she joined the Japanese Police Agency.

"Is that it?" she asked Hei, who was walking around examining the bodies.

"Yeah. A few of these guys are still alive but I'm sure their buddies will come back for them. Or not. It doesn't really matter to us."

"No," she agreed hesitantly. "Hei, one of the bikes had got lodged under the Land Cruiser. Come and give me a hand getting it out."

As Hei came over to help, Misaki slung her rifle over her back and walked to the front of the vehicle. Only when she arrived there did she see that the rider was still trapped under the bike, an expression of agony etched onto his dead face.

"I'll move the body," Hei informed her briskly before bending to grab the man with both hands.

Unable to look, Misaki turned away for a second, contemplating what she had done. She realised that there hadn't really been a choice and out here it was kill or be killed, but she just wished she hadn't been forced to do it. Suddenly, the desire to get to the border and out of this wretched land filled her anew. She hated what this part of South America had become and wanted to be away from it as soon as possible.

Once she turned back, she found that Hei had not only removed the body but the bike as well. Although he was lean, there wasn't an ounce of fat on him and he possessed enormous strength. He manhandled the heavy motorcycle that had been wedged under the vehicle seemingly without much effort. Not for the first time, Misaki mused on just what higher level the average contractor was, and Hei in particular.

"Are you okay to drive or do you want me to take the wheel for a bit?" he asked her.

"No, I'm good to go," she replied, even if she was shaking a little. It was the same with most people – once the adrenaline began to fade then the shock of whatever incident that had occurred began to kick in. Still, she was a trained professional and this most certainly wasn't her first rodeo. To prove her point she purposefully yanked open the driver's door and got back in, storing her rifle with arm's reach next to her.

Hei silently got in the passenger's side and she restarted the vehicle. Carefully weaving around the bodies littering the road, they were soon on their way again.

* * *

They came upon the border crossing unexpectedly. One second, they were driving through a surprisingly lush valley but as soon as they emerged on the far side they encountered a heavily guarded checkpoint and a tall, barbed-wire-topped fence that extended out in both directions as far as they could see. A man in army uniform clutching an assault rifle waived them to a halt.

The second they stopped, Hei leaned out of the window and began to jabber at the solider in Chinese. They had planned this beforehand and Misaki was happy to leave all the talking to him.

The soldier visible seemed to relax at the sound of Hei's voice, suggesting to Misaki that he'd been right when he stated that Chinese were likely to get special treatment. Hei was obviously laying it on thick, pointing to the cracked windshield and yattering away at a hundred words a second. The soldier, whom she suspected wasn't understanding half of what was being said to him, just raised his hand for a second to quieten Hei before calling back to his comrades at the gate. A moment later, another soldier emerged from behind the barricade and approached the Land Cruiser. This one was obviously an officer and, as became clear after he started talking to Hei, was clearly fluent in the Chinese language.

Misaki tried to follow the exchange, but could only get the general gist of what was being said. Hei was spinning a tale that they were aid workers who had been attacked by some gang and had been separated from their comrades. Unable to reach their camp and not knowing what else to do, they had made a run to the border. There was a Chinese consulate in Arica where they intended to head.

The officer seemed to accept the story at face value, although he did ask a number of questions. It was only while the man was quizzing Hei that Misaki remembered that her rifle was propped between her and the door of the car. It was probably out of sight for the moment, but she wondered if it would cause problems if the Chilean soldiers insisted on searching the vehicle. Remarkably, they did not and merely waived them on through the gate and into Chile itself. Hei called out his thanks as they rolled through the crossing point.

"They're just letting us through?" Misaki gasped. "No papers, no checking our backstory, nothing?"

"As I said, there's a lot of Chinese money flowing into this area, Korean and Japanese, too, for that matter. They don't want to piss off anyone who looks Asian. Besides, I dropped the name of one of the aid agencies that operate in the area and I think that guy was more than willing to believe we worked for them."

"Well, I'm not going to complain about their lax security," Misaki stated flatly. "We're actually not too far from Arica from here. I vote we head straight there and then try and get hold of Oreille's contact in the country."

"Good idea. Do you have any credit cards on you?" he asked.

"Umm, yeah, I have a couple Oreille gave me in case of emergencies," she confirmed. "I guess you're thinking that we're not exactly dressed to be wandering around in a civilised city, eh?"

"Yeah, I think we both need a couple of sets of new clothes and a few more basic toiletries. We'll probably have to ditch this vehicle when we get to town bearing in mind we have no registration documents for it, not to mention it has numerous bullet holes in it and a smashed front end. We'll get a civilian rucksack so we can carry your rifle without anyone seeing it and people will probably think we're tourists."

"Really, they get tourists out here?"

"I guess some people get a thrill from the idea of being somewhere so close to Heaven's Gate, not that they'd ever cross the border, of course."

"Takes all sorts," she muttered. "Okay, let's head to Arica and do some shopping."

"And after that, I vote we find a hotel with a decent restaurant," Hei added. "Right now I could eat a horse."

"Partner, you just read my mind," she agreed before hitting the accelerator.


	6. Chapter 6 – The Turning Tide

**Chapter 6 – The Turning Tide**

AN

Hmm, this story really hasn't taken off yet, has it? What can I possibly do to attract more readers? Ah, I know!

Sex! Filth! Naughty bits!

Ahem. Yes, I need to flag up a naughtiness warning for the latter part of this chapter. DTB was never a show that really did fan service (the closest I can think of was Misaki in her swimming outfit or Shinoda in the gentleman's club) but as it most definitely is an adult story, I have treated it as such here. Anchors ahoy!

Huge thanks to Arnel who is having hot flushes after beta reading this chapter.

* * *

Arica proved to be an attractive, thriving city that catered to a busy tourist trade as well as being an important port. As Misaki drove the battered Land Cruiser along a hectic two-lane carriageway, she could feel herself start to unwind. All the tensions of the last week seemed to melt out of her and only her ragged combat clothing and the assault rifle nestling by her knee where reminders of those events. She was back in civilisation and she couldn't have been happier.

"I think there's a shopping mall over to the left," Hei pointed out suddenly.

"Good spot," she agreed, shifting lanes so she could reach the turn-off. "Hopefully, we can get everything we need in there. Once we park, you stay in the vehicle and I'll hit the shops."

"Don't you trust my fashion sense?"

"Well, aside from the fact that the only time I've ever seen you shopping you were buying woman's clothes, I think I'll be a bit less conspicuous in there than you'd be," she pointed out. "Combat pants and a black vest could be construed to be fashion items on a woman. You, however, just look like a ninja assassin, which I suppose you are. Still, I don't think we want the police or the mall security staff to start taking an interest in you."

"I guess not," he agreed. "I suppose you need to know what clothing sizes I take?"

"I've got a pretty good eye for these things, but it wouldn't hurt. Now, what style of tops would you like? A nice Hawaiian shirt or something pink?"

"You're too much of a professional to stick me in anything that would attract attention, Misaki," Hei responded, pointedly not biting. "Besides, I'm sure you'll pick better items than I would."

"I don't know, that lingerie set I saw you buying was pretty cute. Are you sure it wasn't for you?"

"Funny. You know, you seem to have gotten a lot more cheerful since we crossed over into Chile. Not that I can blame you for that, I guess."

"Damn straight," she huffed, guiding the vehicle into a parking place. "Okay, I'll be as quick as I can. A couple of changes of clothing should be enough, right?"

"You might want to get a few warmer items, too. If your contact intends to get us out of the country by ship, we might need a few extra layers when we get out to sea."

"Good point. Okay, I'll see you in a few."

Hei slumped back in his seat, slightly annoyed that he had to just sit there guarding the vehicle, which they would have to ditch shortly anyway, while Misaki swanned around a fancy mall… shopping! While logically he knew this was for the best, they certainly couldn't have carried her rifle around or safely left it unattended in the car, for instance; it still frustrated him. He was tired, hungry, and just about ready to leave South America for good. Nothing good ever happened while he was here.

Hell, that was an understatement.

Resigned to his fate, he shifted himself into a comfortable position from where he could keep a clear view of the car's mirrors and waited.

And waited.

And waited.

He was just starting to think that something might have happened to Misaki when she appeared, laden with shopping bags and holding a paper cup in her hand. He couldn't help but scowl at her as she climbed into the car.

"Here, I got you a coffee," she announced, handing him the cup.

"Thanks, I was beginning to dehydrate from all the time I was waiting here," he replied sourly. He did take the coffee, though. It tasted quite good.

"Oh, quit moaning," she snapped. "It was a big mall and it took me a while to pick up everything we needed. I got a map of the city and a few tourist guides, by the way. Oreille's contact has an office down by the docks. It's probably best if we drive somewhere a bit quieter, get changed into our new clothes, and then go and make contact with this person."

"Okay," Hei grunted, sipping his drink.

"What's got you in such a mood?" she demanded. "We've made back to civilisation and hopefully we've nearly secured our passage off this continent. You should be pleased."

"I'll be pleased once we've eaten," he replied grumpily. "I'm starving."

Misaki shook her head.

"Men, they're all the same. Unless they've been fed, they're a pain in the butt."

She turned the ignition key and pulled out of the parking spot, ignoring the disgruntled look Hei was shooting at her.

* * *

A couple of hours later, the pair of them walked into a squat office building on the outskirts of the docks. They were both wearing brand new clothes and could easily have passed for tourists. Hei's demeanour had also improved, somewhat, following a visit to a drive-thru burger place where they had both ordered enough for two. Save for a minor squabble over the last of the fries, things were going smoothly.

Entering through a wide, glass door, they emerged into the reception area where the air conditioning was on full blast. An attractive woman seated behind a desk noted their arrival.

"Can I help you?"

"I believe so," Misaki replied. "I've been told to ask for a Mr. Bravo."

The woman stared at her for a moment before reaching for the phone on her desk. She lifted the receiver and dialled a number. It rang a number of times before being answered.

"Hello, sir. This is Catalina at the front desk. I have a young couple here who are asking for Mr. Bravo. Yes? That's right. Yes, I would say so. Fine, thank you, sir."

The woman put down the phone and looked back up at them.

"Mr. Bravo is available to see you. If you'll kindly go up the stairs to your right to the next floor, turn left on the landing, and head to the door at the end of the corridor marked '23'."

"Thank you for your help," Misaki said graciously, before heading towards the stairs with Hei at her heels.

They reached the first floor and followed the directions that had been given. They found the correct door and entered without knocking. Inside, they found a well-appointed office dominated by a large desk. Behind that desk was a thin man with lank, mousey hair. He looked up at them with a smile.

"Good afternoon," he greeted them civilly. "I understand that you wish to speak to Mr. Bravo, yes?"

"And you are?" Misaki demanded, noting a name plaque on the desk that announced that they were addressing a Francisco Rojas.

"I'm the man who can probably help you," he replied, "but first, I must know your name. Your real name, that is."

"Tell him," Hei prompted.

Misaki glanced at him in surprise for a moment, before turning back to the man behind the desk.

"Okay, my name is Misaki Kirihara."

"Ah, excellent. I was warned that there was a possibility that you might show up here, but never in a million years did I believe it would actually happen," he exclaimed. "As you can probably guess, I occasionally operate under the alternative name of Mr. Bravo and Madam Oreille has asked me to extend whatever aid to you I can."

"We need to get out of the country," Hei interrupted. "Back to Japan or possibly to China."

"Hmm, that won't be so easy, at least not directly," the man who called himself Mr. Bravo responded. "It would be best if you went to an intermediate country, like the Philippines or maybe Indonesia first. From there it will be easier to arrange transport back to your homeland. Ships or aircraft departing from South American are subjected to some rigorous scrutiny, I'm afraid."

"That won't be a problem. That's pretty much how I got here in the first place," Misaki confirmed. "How soon can you get us out?"

"Hmm, is it just the two of you? I was led to believe your group was somewhat larger, Miss Kirihara."

"There's just the two of us left," she confirmed. "We encountered some problems with the Chinese."

"Ah," Bravo noted. "They are rather possessive of certain areas to the north, aren't they? Well, as it's just the two of you, you're in luck. There is a ship sailing for the Philippines this evening at six o'clock, the Atago Maru. I should be able to get you on board without difficulties. It won't be the fastest way to travel, I'm afraid. In fact, it will take nearly three weeks to get there, but that will give us time to arrange your travel onwards from Luzon. If that's agreeable with you, I'll arrange to get word to Madam Oreille immediately that you'll be on the boat."

"Yes, that will be fine," Misaki agreed, although she was despondent at more time wasted.

"We have a rather beat up Land Cruiser outside," Hei added. "It's attracting rather a lot of attention. Can you dispose of it for us?"

"No problem. I know a man who specialises in such things," Mr. Bravo assured him.

"Great, well, I guess that's all arranged."

"Excellent. If you would like to come back here by, say, five-thirty, I'll take you to meet the captain of the ship. Unless you wish to remain here, that is?"

"No," Hei responded immediately. "We'll leave our bags here, if that's okay, though. Can you recommend a good restaurant or diner within walking distance?"

"Back the way you came, out of the dock gates and turn right. That will take you along the waterfront where there are any number of good establishments, depending on your taste," Mr. Bravo informed them with a smile. "That sounds like an excellent way to pass the time before you set sail, assuming neither of you is subject to seasickness, that is."

"No, we're not," Misaki assured him. "Thank you for your help and we'll see you at five-thirty."

As they left the office, Misaki turned to Hei in amazement.

"Are you still hungry? You just ate three quarter pound burgers and a load of fries."

"Yeah, but I've experienced the food on these merchant ships before. If we're going to be stuck on that tub for three weeks, I want to make damn sure I've had a good meal beforehand."

She nodded, accepting the logic. Besides, after a brisk walk along the seafront a nice, juicy steak would probably go down quite nicely.

* * *

They made it back to the office with fifteen minutes to spare. The receptionist wasn't at her desk, so they headed straight up the stairs to Mr. Bravo's office. They found him already waiting for them with a large, swarthy man who was introduced to them as Aindrea Charisteas, Captain of the Atago Maru.

Misaki resisted a shudder as the captain eyed her with a lustful look on his face, although when the man shifted his attention to Hei she couldn't help but notice his expression change to an entirely more suspicious one. Clearly, the man saw something in Hei that he didn't like. Perhaps Bravo had said something he shouldn't have?

"So, you two are my passengers, eh? No problem. We'll be in the Philippians before you know it," the large man assured them gruffly. "Just make sure you two stay out of the way and don't make no trouble, okay?"

"You'll be well compensated for your trouble, Mr. Charisteas," Bravo told the man. "I wouldn't worry about this pair. I've been assured they are both complete professionals and will be the soul of discretion."

"That's good," Charisteas grunted. "Get your shit together and follow me. I have a schedule to keep."

They grabbed their bags from where they'd left them and hurriedly offered their thanks to Mr. Bravo, who nodded graciously. They then followed the lumbering Captain Charisteas down the stairs and out of the building. Despite them having to carry their possessions, they had little trouble keeping up with the man, who seemed to waddle rather than walk.

Fortunately for the captain, they didn't have that far to go. Once they'd skirted around a substantial warehouse they found themselves at the waterfront. The Atago Maru was a sizable vessel tied up at the dockside, although it was clear that preparations for her departure were well underway. Charisteas led them up the gantry without a moment's hesitation. He then passed them on to an unnamed man he identified as the ship's Chief Petty Officer and disappeared without another word. The CPO at least proved friendly.

"If you would like to follow me, I'll get you set up in your cabins," he instructed them, leading them into the bowels of the ship. "I'm the man to ask for if you have any problems or requests."

"Fine, well, I have a request," Hei interjected. "You said cabins as in plural. We'll be sharing, so we only need one."

"Really?" the man exclaimed, suddenly looking worried. "Well, I guess that's okay. We've got quite a few spare berths on this trip and there is one cabin I guess will do. We'll have to shift the bedding and stuff over. Err, if I take you to the wardroom for a while where you can grab a cup of coffee, that will give us a chance to get things set up."

Misaki had nearly choked at Hei's statement, but a glance from him silenced her. Something in his expression suggested that something was going on that she didn't know about.

The CPO left them in the dull but functional wardroom, directing them to make use of the coffee pot that was there. Hei set about pouring them their drinks while the man bustled off.

"Well, this is a sudden change in our relationship," Misaki noted dryly after the CPO had left. "I know I bought you dinner but I think you've misread my intentions."

"The captain worries me," Hei confided while handing Misaki her coffee. "Something tells me he knows I'm a Contractor and he doesn't like that one little bit. He seemed just a little bit too taken with you, too."

"You don't think he'd be stupid enough to try anything, do you?"

"I wouldn't put it past him," Hei confirmed. "That guy seems like he plays by his own rules. I have no idea what his motivations are but he refused to make eye contact with me and kept clenching his fists all the time. Did you notice that?"

"I can't say that I did, although I did get a very uneasy feeling about him," she admitted, silently berating herself for missing the signs Hei had picked up on. Some detective she was!

"From now on, we stick together, okay? You make sure you have your weapon handy at all times and we only eat food from communal containers or that has been tested by one of the crew first."

"Don't you think you're being a bit paranoid?" she challenged. "I mean, Oreille arranged for us to be on this ship. I doubt she would have done so if there was any danger."

"Oreille might have made arrangements for us to get out of South America, but she didn't personally pick this ship, did she?" he pointed out. "Our mysterious Mr. Bravo did that and I got the impression that he just stuck us on the first vessel out of here. We were a problem for him and one he was only too happy to get rid of quickly."

"Okay, I still think you're overreacting, but I guess overreacting keeps you alive, doesn't it? Sharing a cabin won't be much different from what we have been doing, apart from it should be a bit more comfortable."

"I'll only be comfortable once we step onto Philipino soil," he retorted before falling silent. They both drank their coffee in silence.

The CPO returned for them just as they finished off their second cup of coffee. Misaki thought that it had taken a rather long time just to move some bedding, but she said nothing and allowed herself and Hei to be guided to their new living quarters.

It wasn't a large space by any means but that was to be expected on a ship. The room was dominated by a large bunk with high metal sides, no doubt intended to stop you rolling out of bed in rough seas. There were a desk and two chairs, plus a sink mounted on the wall with a mirror above it. A thin door led to what turned out to be a toilet or 'head' in a nautical parlance. A single porthole gave them a view of the outside world. The cabin was fairly cramped but they would cope.

The CPO took his leave of them after giving them instruction on where the galley was and how to contact him in event of problems. They dropped their bags and Hei immediately began to examine every item of furniture, probably looking for bugs or cameras. After an extremely thorough search, he turned his attention to the door. He didn't like what he saw.

"Look," he called to Misaki. "Look at these screw holes. There used to be a bolt on this door but it looks like someone removed it in a hurry."

"Think that's what they were doing while we were sitting in the wardroom?"

"I'd put money on it," Hei confirmed.

"I take back what I said earlier. Perhaps we do have a reason to be suspicious of the ship's crew," she allowed. "Are we too late to get off?"

"Yeah, didn't you feel the ship get underway while we had our coffee? Look out the window, you can see we're moving."

She did and saw what must have been the harbour wall slip by, confirming that it was indeed too late to exit the ship. They were trapped with a potentially hostile crew and thousands of miles of sea to cross. Squaring her shoulders, Misaki walked over to her rucksack and opened it. After rummaging around a little, she pulled out her M-4 carbine. After checking the safety catch was on, she chambered a round and placed the rifle in a space between the bunk and a small bedside cabinet next to it.

"You're sleeping next to the wall," she told Hei in no uncertain terms.

* * *

What could have been an awkward evening proved to be actually quite enjoyable. Having eaten well before they boarded the ship, there was no need for them to venture out to the galley, so they mostly sat and talked. While a great deal of their conversation was workmanlike, discussing their current situation and how best to handle it, they did talk a little about their personal lives, too, much to Misaki's great surprise.

While Hei was close-lipped on many topics, he was quite forthcoming regarding some of his missions and the places they had taken him. He possessed the common male habit of expressing his liking for a place by the quality of the food to be found there. As this was also a subject dear to Misaki's heart, they found plenty to talk about and it left her wishing she'd travelled more.

For her part, Misaki found herself talking about her frustrations as a policewoman and having to live up to the fearsome reputation of her father. In fact, she was a lot more passionate on the subject then even she realised and she made several comments that she was surprised that she had the courage to vocalise. Clearly, the frustrations of the last year or two were starting to get to her.

As the hour grew late, they decided to turn in for the evening. Preparations for bed were conducted in a refreshingly grown-up manner, with one of them politely turning their back while the other washed at the small sink and changed clothing. Misaki was rather put out that Hei had chosen to wear just a pair of black briefs to bed, but as the evening was warm and the cabin rather stuffy, she really couldn't complain too much, even if she was left with the lingering feeling that he knew exactly what effect his lack of clothing was having on her and was amused by it.

She, in turn, just wore a reasonably long t-shirt and her knickers to bed. It really was too warm to wear anything else, even if they had elected to sleep with only a single sheet over them.

They settled down with Hei closest to the ship's hull and Misaki up against the metal bars designed to stop the sleeper rolling out of bed. As she took off her glasses and laid them on the bedside cabinet, she wondered how well she would sleep. She was used to sleeping in close proximity to Hei by now, but despite her previous trip to South America, she still wasn't used to the motion of a large ship. Then, of course, there was the threat of the crew to worry about.

Earlier in the evening, to make up for the lack of a lock on the door, Hei had rigged up a primitive booby-trap with his wires that would at least alert them to anyone trying to enter. It wasn't much, but it should at least rouse them from their sleep and give them enough time to react to an intruder.

As the darkness enveloped them, Misaki did indeed find that she was having difficulties sleeping, but the problem came from an unexpected source, namely Hei. Normally when sleeping, the man lay with an unnatural stillness, but tonight he couldn't seem to stop moving about. He tossed and turned endlessly, causing Misaki to bounce around on the narrow mattress whenever he moved. A hissed complaint from her brought a sullen 'sorry' but within minutes he was wiggling around again.

By now, Misaki was getting tired and irritated. Hei was driving her mad and she dearly wanted to smack him upside his head. Unfortunately, she was laying with her back to him and in the narrow confines of the bed, she couldn't really get her arm around into a position to get a solid hit on him. Instead, she did the only thing she could and thrust her bottom out in an effort to catch him. Pushing herself up very slightly with her left arm, she swivelled her hips and shoved her butt at him… and froze.

As soon her bum made contact with him she encountered something hard. Something very hard. Hei grunted at the contact but instantly seemed to freeze as soon as she made contact with him. Likewise, Misaki was also instantly paralyzed as she appreciated exactly what was currently pressed against her. Suddenly, Hei's squirming about made sense as she realised that he had been desperately trying to maintain some space between them.

A million thoughts instantly began to tumble through Misaki's brain. The first and major thought was surprise that Hei was in this state. Was he really reacting to the two of them being partially undressed in the same bed? Did he find her sexually attractive? More to the point, what the hell did she do now? Her butt was pressed right against his stiff private parts and there was no way she could pretend nothing had happened, was there? Did she just try and inch away while pretending like nothing happened? Did she want something to happen?

"I told you, Contractors have needs and desires, too," Hei's whispered in her ear, so close that she could feel his warm breath on her neck.

Needs? Desires? Damn it all, she could write a book on those two subjects. For so long, she'd put aside all personal relationships for the sake of her career, accepting the loneliness and frustration as the price of her spectacular rise through the ranks. Things had changed, though, and she first began to question her lifestyle choices when she first caught sight of a handsome, quiet, Chinese man who called himself Li. Even if she hadn't fully appreciated it at the time, she'd been drawn to him like no man she'd ever met before. The fact that Li turned out to be Hei, also known as BK-201, did nothing to diminish her obsession and had, in fact, fuelled it. Now he was virtually admitting he desired her? The question was, what did she do? Somewhere in the back of her mind, she could hear her friend, Kanami, screaming at her to go for it, but did she had the nerve?

Somehow, events began to unfold without any conscious help on her part. While her mind had been in near meltdown, her body had decided to start rubbing against Hei. With horror, Misaki comprehended that she was grinding her backside against Hei. She heard him emit what sounded like a groan of pleasure before he began to push himself against her in return.

This continued for a while in silence, until Misaki began to appreciate that rubbing against each other the way they had been doing was causing her underwear to ride downwards. Hei was having a similar problem, and soon she felt his hard flesh against the softness of her backside. She bit her lip and she felt her body begin to tremble with excitement. How many years had it been since she last got laid? Was it really going to happen now… with Hei?

Again, events overtook her inaction as Hei, obviously feeling he was getting more pleasure out of their activities than she was, reached around laid a hand on her abdomen. She gasped out loud at the unexpected contact and shuddered as his hand began to move lower, his fingers slipping under the elastic of her knickers and soon encountered her pubic hair. Automatically, she raised her right leg slightly to give him better access, and, she realised, simultaneously giving him permission to continue.

His hand found the goal that it sought and she cried out loud as he began to rub her gently. She could feel how strong his fingers were but he was very gentle with his touch. For her part, Misaki couldn't believe how turned on she was, not to mention how much she wanted him to continue. She let out a long groan of pleasure as his fingers continued to work their magic.

"Are you okay?" Hei whispered again. "We can stop if this is too much for you."

"If you stop I swear I will get my gun and shoot you!" she snapped back.

Wanting to move things along, she reached behind her awkwardly and managed to grasp him in her hand. It felt big and hard between her fingers and she began to imagine deep inside her as she began to stroke it.

As they appeared to have established an action/reaction type of thing, it seemed to be Hei's turn to take the next step. He did this by sliding his fingers inside her, much to her approval.

"Oh, God, yes!" she moaned.

Their positioning was awkward, so Hei briefly withdrew, pulled Misaki onto her back, before resuming his actions. In her current position, Hei managed to achieve greater penetration and speed, thrusting three fingers into her at a furious rate.

"Kiss me!" she nearly begged.

With his right hand still pleasuring her frantically, Hei leaned in and their lips found each other's with unerring accuracy. Their tongues began to intertwine in a manic, erotic dance. Her right hand began to grope around, but soon found his manhood again which she'd just been forced to release. She began to roughly caress it like it was the most precious object in the world.

The first orgasm hit Misaki completely without warning, causing her to pull her head away and omit a startled scream of joy whilst slamming her legs together, trapping Hei's fingers inside her. She violently shuddered twice and was then still.

"Let's do it," she gasped eventually, her body still trembling. "I need you inside me."

Instantly, she felt the bed shake and she realised Hei was ridding himself of his underwear. Almost desperately, she did the same, throwing her knickers away carelessly, before pulling off her t-shirt. She'd no sooner done this when she felt Hei grab her and push her back down on the bed. Rapidly, he positioned himself between her legs until she could feel him rubbing at her entrance. Only then did a horrible thought occurred to her.

"Shit, Hei, I'm not taking any contraception."

There was a long silence. "Shit," he eventually growled.

The thought of them not doing it after they got to this stage was unthinkable for Misaki and she made a quick decision.

"Just… just make sure you pull out in time, okay?"

"Okay," he replied, sounding relieved and lustful in equal measures.

Almost before she was ready, Hei entered her. He was surprisingly gentle at first, slowly pushing himself into her as deeply as he could and causing Misaki to emit a shuddering moan. With agonising tenderness, he began to move, slowly driving her out of her mind.

"That feels so good," she whimpered. "So damn good. More, please. Do it harder… harder!"

Hei instantly complied, increasing his speed as he began to rapidly thrust himself into her. The rhythmic slapping sound of flesh on flesh was like music to Misaki's ears. Anything that felt this good must surely be illegal. Her hands began to roam greedily over his body and she could feel his tight muscles straining to maintain his erotic assault. She begged him to continue screwing her, threatened him, and screamed at him… anything to ensure that he didn't stop.

Fortunately for her, Hei appeared to have absolutely no intention of slowing. In fact, he seemed to find a higher gear, his hips moving like well-oiled pistons. She shrieked with delight, wilder and more out of control then she'd ever been in her life. If he could just keep going a little longer…

Her second orgasm of the evening hit her like a freight train. Her legs began to shake uncontrollably and her back went rigid. Her screams of ecstasy were probably loud enough to wake the whole ship but she just didn't care. This was just too good to worry about such trifling matters such as that.

Just as she began to come down from her orgasm induced high, she noticed Hei's breathing was becoming laboured. He was emitting strange, breathy grunts and she could feel his body starting to shake. Then, without warning, he pulled out of her and clambered over her legs, straddling her. Almost immediately, Misaki felt a strange, warm liquid spray onto her chest. In the dim light, she could just make out Hei's arm frantically flailing and another stream of the sticky liquid hit her, and then another. With a shuddering moan, Hei became still.

Misaki ran her hand over her own chest, noting she was drenched in Hei's discharge. She couldn't help but giggle like a naughty schoolgirl. She'd never done anything like this before and it felt deliciously wicked. It was not like she could complain, anyway, she'd told him to pull out in time, hadn't she?

She felt the bed move and Hei slumped down next to her. His body was sweaty and he was still breathing heavily. As for herself, Misaki found she was still trembling slightly but otherwise felt more alive than she had in her entire life.

The silence was only disturbed by their heavy breathing but soon they both caught their breath. Feeling the sudden tension in the air, Misaki turned her head towards the dark shape that was her unexpected lover.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah."

"You don't sound very sure," she objected. "What are you thinking?"

"What am I thinking?" he repeated before falling silent for a moment. "I'm thinking… I've never felt more human than I do at this moment."

For some unexplained reason, this made Misaki happier than she could remember.

"I'm going to switch the light on," she advised him. "Some naughty boy has made me all sticky and I need to clean up."

A soft chuckle was her only answer so she reached over and switched on the lamp next to the bed. She felt more than a little weary as she swung her legs over the metal rail fixed to the side of the bed. She'd been expecting the floor to be cold on her feet, but fortunately, it wasn't. She padded over to the small sink and started to run some hot water. Feeling eyes upon her, she turned her head and saw Hei watching her intently.

She would have been lying if she said the sight of him, resting there on his side and as naked as the day he was born, didn't excite her. He was expressionless, but something in those dark eyes seemed to convey an ocean of desire. She gulped.

Quickly grabbing a cloth and giving her chest a quick wipe, she turned back to Hei, boldly displaying herself to him. Normally, she would never have had the courage to be so brazen, but here, with him, it didn't matter. She wanted him to look.

"Like what you see," she asked, admittedly a little nervously.

"Very much," he confirmed. "In fact, I was just wondering when you were going to come back to bed."

With a lustful smile on her lips, Misaki sashayed her way back to her dangerous lover.


	7. Chapter 7 – City of Eternal Spring

**Chapter 7 – City of Eternal Spring **

AN

Sorry for the slight delay in posting this chapter which I'm sure upset both of you reading it J. I get to demonstrate my ignorance of a whole new country this time, namely China. Seriously, if I've dropped any cultural or geographic clangers here, accept my apologies in advance. I am but a poor, untraveled Brit who is reliant on the interweb for knowledge.

Thanks to Arnel for checking over the chapter. Hope you start to cool down soon!

* * *

A loud crashing sound made Misaki wake with a start. Momentarily, she had no idea of where she was or what was happening, before a lithe figure vaulted over her and she realised it was Hei.

Belatedly, her police instincts cut in and she lunged for her rifle which was propped up against the edge of the bed. She could hear confused shouts and curses, but nothing was clearly visible in the darkness. She reached for the bedside light.

"Hei, lights coming on!" she yelled in warning before flicking the switch.

It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the sudden brightness but when they did she saw the ship's unwelcoming captain, Aindrea Charisteas, lying on the floor with one of Hei's wire traps wrapped around his legs. The Black Reaper himself was crouched over the man with his knife pressed firmly to the captain's throat. The door to their cabin was open and she could see three other sailors crowded in the entranceway, all armed with large spanners or pipes. Lying discarded on the floor next to the captain's hand, however, was a large revolver.

Misaki quickly levelled her rifle at the nearest sailor.

"Drop your weapon," she bellowed. "Do it… now!"

The sailors ignored her as they all glared at Hei, evidently trying to decide if they could rush him before he slit their captain's throat.

A single shot rang out and the closest sailor to Hei screamed and dropped the metal pipe he'd been holding, before falling to his knees and clutching his arm. Misaki smirked in satisfaction that her carefully placed shot had impacted exactly where she had intended. The remaining two sailors turned and stared at her in surprise.

"Drop your weapons," she repeated, wondering why the men were staring at her in such a strange way before it occurred to her that she was stark naked. "Drop the weapons and back off! This is your last warning."

The next man in line; a huge, bald man wearing filthy coveralls, finally got the message when Misaki aimed her rifle directly at his head. His expression turned from bewilderment to fear and then anger. He dropped the spanner he'd been holding and shuffled backwards a few steps.

"That will be good enough," Hei called to her. "Now, let's find out why these fine gentlemen decided to visit us at such an early hour, shall we? Well, Captain, what were you planning? Answer truthfully or I'll cut you into little pieces."

"Go to hell, you bastard!" the man yelled. Hei slammed Charisteas's head into the floor.

"I won't ask you again," Hei hissed.

"You're a filthy Contractor, aren't you?" Charisteas accused him. "I would never have let you onto my ship if I'd known what you are, you piece of shit. I will kill you! I will kill all your type!"

"How do you know about Contractors?" Misaki demanded, the barrel of her rifle never straying from the sailor standing in the doorway for a second.

"A Contractor killed my brother in cold blood. They are inhuman, I say, and you are his whore! You deserve to die, too. Do you think you'll ever get off this ship? My crew will…aaaaggghhh!"

The Captain screamed as Hei discharged a huge burst of electricity into him. The sailor's head seemed to shake for a moment before it slammed heavily onto the metal floor. Hei stood as wisps of smoke began to rise from Charisteas's body.

"Well, are you going to attack me?" Hei demanded of the cowering sailors gathered around the door. They all wore expressions of horror on their faces. "Well?"

"There are sixty men on this ship," the bravest of the sailors pointed out in a stuttering voice. "You can't kill us all! One of us will get you."

"Only sixty?" Hei scoffed. "Didn't you hear your Captain? I'm a Contractor. I could kill every man on this boat in minutes. You wouldn't stand a chance."

"Then what would you do? You can't sail this ship by yourself, even assuming you know how to! You'd be stranded in the middle of the sea."

"I know how to operate a radio," he countered. "I'm sure I could send a distress signal and make up some bullshit story about what happened to you all."

The crew looked at each other with fear in their eyes, clearly unable to decide what to do next.

"However, one thing that is common to all Contractors is that we think rationally. I have no need or desire to kill any of you. The Captain here was different because he was clearly intent on taking revenge for his brother and there was no way he would have backed off. Do any of you have similar problems with Contractors?"

"We'd never even heard that such things existed until a few hours ago," the sailor confirmed. "We only came with Aindrea because he said you were a risk to us all."

"That's crap," Misaki interrupted. "All we want to do is get to the Philippines. It wouldn't make any sense to mess with the crew that's taking us there, would it?"

"She's right," Hei confirmed. "So, I'm going to offer you all a deal. Take us where we want to go and we'll stand by the same terms and conditions agreed upon previously, and I guarantee not a single member of this crew will be harmed. Try this crap again, however, and I'll start killing people at random. Keep coming at us and I'll kill you all."

"Think about it," Misaki urged. "Even if you get lucky and take us down, the organisation we work for won't be happy and you'll all be hunted for the rest of your lives. On the other hand, if you just take us to the place you're going anyway, you'll get us out of your hair and have a nice cash bonus to boot. Your choice."

"We don't have a problem with that," the lead sailor agreed nervously. "We had nothing against you guys, anyway. It was just the Captain who made us do this."

"Good, then we have a deal," Hei confirmed. "Now, take the body of this fat piece of crap and throw it overboard. When you get to port you'll report that he got drunk and fell overboard by himself, okay? Oh, and in the morning I want someone to come and replace the lock on this door. I don't want any more unexpected visitors, got that?"

"Yeah, no problem," the man agreed, staring at the body of his Captain.

Hei backed away and the three sailors fearfully entered the room. Hurriedly, they grabbed Charisteas' legs and dragged him out of the cabin. Hei slammed the door shut behind them, before pulling the small table over and wedging it against it. It wasn't as good as his trap, but it would give them notice of anyone trying to get in.

"What do you think?" Misaki asked, lowering her rifle at last.

"I think they'll behave themselves, but we'll watch them carefully, anyway. I doubt they have the courage to attack us head-on, but they might try something cute with our food or drink.

We'll go to the galley at random times, conduct unexpected inspections of the cooking area, and make crew members taste our food, too."

"Great, so we'll have to watch our backs for the next three weeks. I was looking forward to actually relaxing a little during this trip," she complained.

"Once the lock is replaced we'll be able to relax in here without too much worry," Hei pointed out.

"Hmm, just what form of relaxation are you talking about, here?" she challenged.

In reply, Hei just smiled at her, the first time she could remember him doing so while not pretending to be someone else. For some reason, that simple gesture almost made her heart burst with happiness.

* * *

For all her concerns that the three-week trip was going to be stressful, if she was being honest with herself Misaki would have had to admit that she had the time of her life during the remaining sea journey.

As Hei had suggested, they both kept a close watch on the crew of the Atago Maru which, at times, reverted to the level of bullying. Being a senior police officer, Misaki was used to having the respect of those around her but she had to admit that intimidating a whole ship-load of rough and ready sailors did give her an odd buzz of satisfaction. She always took her rifle with her whenever she left the cabin and she could hear the muffled whispers of the men whenever she walked past. Not that they would have said anything to her face, but the fact that she had taken a Contractor as a lover seemed to fill the sailors with a mix of awe, fear, and loathing. Their reaction to her was nothing to the outright terror Hei induced in them, but it was fun to watch, nevertheless.

The second reason she enjoyed the trip so much was Hei himself. More accurately, it might be described as their changed relationship that gave her so much pleasure and, to be blunt, the vast amounts of sex they engaged in.

Considering that there was virtually nothing in the way of alternative entertainment about the ship, sailor intimidation notwithstanding, it was perhaps not surprising that the two of them took the opportunity to explore their changed circumstances, not to mention each other's bodies, at every available occasion. Misaki would never have described herself as promiscuous in a million years and, in fact, was a little bit prudish, but with Hei that all changed. They seemed to be locked in an ever-escalating game of who could cause the other the most pleasure, a game Misaki wasn't going to back away from. Some of the acts she performed on her new lover were things she had previously sworn that she would never do for any man. With him, however, the rule book had been shredded and she was ready and willing to do almost anything for him.

Needless to say, some of the things he did to her nearly defied all description.

All in all, the days seemed to pass by like fleeting clouds and she was genuinely surprised when the acting Captain of the ship came and told them they would be making port the following day. This filled Misaki with conflicting emotions. On one hand, she was keen to get on with her mission and find her father. On the other hand, she was worried that the closeness that she and Hei had developed might begin to wither out in the real world. Once the Captain had left, she immediately turned to her lover.

"Hei, I think we need to talk about a few things."

"Oh?"

"Yes. Firstly, are you absolutely sure that you want to come to China with me? This will be a very dangerous mission and the chances of success are slim. You don't have to risk yourself if you don't want to."

"Misaki," Hei began slowly. "You heard what that girl Ama said. I don't think there's a single thing more important in the whole world right now than finding out what Madam Stargazer has to say. I've invested heavily in this myself, remember. Besides, you'd last two minutes alone in China. I'm your best bet for finding your father."

"Okay, I accept that," she agreed. "On a more personal note, what about us? Was this all about just scratching an itch, or are we actually together now?"

"Do you want us to be? Having a Contractor for a boyfriend isn't exactly going to make you popular, you know."

"I don't care about that," she snapped. "Look, if I'm honest with you, I started to develop strong feelings for you when you were pretending to be Li. When I found out who you really were, I admit I was shocked and upset, but I quickly realised that those feeling hadn't changed. I know what you are and what that means, but I still want to be with you."

Hei was silent for a long moment before he turned and looked at her with mournful eyes.

"If I was stronger, Misaki, I would push you away. You say that you know what being a Contractor means, but I highly doubt that you do. All my life, the things that I truly love have been slowly taken away from me, one by one. My sister and I were taken from our parents the moment Bai started to display her powers. I went with her because I would have done anything for her. Anything. But it didn't matter how hard I tried to protect her, I lost her in the end. For a while, it was three of us; me, Bai, and Amber. Amber was my lover, but she sacrificed herself to prevent all us Contractors being wiped out, as you saw for yourself. Yin…I vowed to protect her with my life and yet… she was taken from me, too. Even little Suou who I ended up thinking of as some kind of surrogate daughter is gone. Everyone I ever cared about has been taken from me."

"Hei, I…" Misaki began.

"No, I know what you're going to say," he interrupted her. "After all, you're a Police Chief, and a damn good one, at that. I know that this is your battle as much as it is mine and that you are well able to protect yourself. All the same, I think if I lost you, too, that would be the end of me. Contractors are meant to be rational and put our own survival above everything else, but sometimes I wake up in the morning and wonder why I'm even bothering. I might as well take one of my knives and slit my own wrists."

Misaki lunged forward and wrapped her arms around him.

"I promise that you won't lose me. I'll be with you from now on, I promise."

"You can't promise that and I can't promise that I can stay with you, no matter how much I want to be. That's one of the things about being a Contractor, Misaki, we don't get happy endings."

She held him tight but had no words of comfort to offer.

* * *

It was only a moderate surprise to Misaki to find a large, black limousine waiting for them as they stepped off the ship. As soon as they appeared, the driver exited the vehicle and opened the rear door, gesturing for them to enter. What did surprise her was that it was Madam Oreille herself waiting for them in the back.

"Well, Misaki," she said by way of greeting, "I send you out with a platoon of highly-trained mercenaries and your return with Hei. I'd call that a very good deal, actually."

"Oreille," Hei growled. "You going to try and sell me out to the C.I.A. again?"

"Oh, calm yourself, Hei," she admonished him. "That was just business. We're playing a much more important game now. I can't say it's too much of a shock for me to see you're mixed up in all this. Quite how you managed to arrive here in the company of Miss Kirihara is another matter, though."

"That is a very long story," Misaki informed her.

"Oh? Well, I do so love a good story. I have booked rooms at a good hotel near here so I suggest we head back there and discuss this matter in comfort. I'm sure that dreadful ship was a most trying experience for you."

"Yeah, especially after the Captain tried to kill us," Misaki spat.

"Really?" Oreille noted in mild surprise, peering over the top of her purple-tinted sunglasses.

"He found out that was a bad move to make," Hei added.

"I'm sure he did. Well, this is most unfortunate. I shall be sharing stern words with Mr. Bravo when I next speak to him. All the more reason to get you two back to civilisation. I'm sure you'll want to get out of those dreadful clothes, take a nice, relaxing shower, before having a good meal. We can talk after you've done that."

"I picked these clothes," Misaki protested.

"Of course you did, and I'm sure you tried your best, dear," Oreille assured her. "I'll arrange for my personal shopper to get you something less… plain. Oh, and before you speak, Hei, no, the clothing will not be bulletproof."

"In that case what I have on will be good enough," he replied with a shrug.

"Philistines. I'm surrounded by Philistines," Oreille moaned as the car pulled away.

* * *

Several hours later, Misaki had showered, changed clothes, and eaten a very large meal. She was truly back in civilization and it felt wonderful. There were still a few things not to her liking but she would sort them out in due course.

She now found herself in Oreille's private suite with a cup of rich coffee in her hand. Hei sat next to her but had chosen tea. Their choices when it came to hot beverages was really the only major divergence in taste that they had. She supposed it was down to their differing professions: as a cop, she often needed a significant caffeine boost to get her through a long shift. As an assassin, he needed a steady hand and the calming effects that tea provided.

Oreille sat before them, reclining in a large, plush chair with a glass of white wine in her hand. She smiled at them as they sipped their drinks.

"Now that you're both feeling more refreshed, I think we should get back to business," Oreille began. "I'm simply dying to know what happened in South America and how the two of you ran into each other."

"Very well, I suppose I'd better begin," Misaki volunteered.

She began to explain how she and the mercenaries had been ambushed by the Chinese Army, how she'd fled on foot and encountered the strange girl who called herself Ama and her warning that the Mikata Documents were incomplete, and only Madam Stargazer held the missing answers. Misaki then briefly described their journey back through the wastelands of South America and their sea voyage back to the Philippines, but she could tell that Oreille had largely stopped listening after the events near Heaven's Gate were explained.

"This girl… Ama? You accepted her word without question?" she challenged them.

"There was something about her," Misaki began. "You should probably ask Hei about it. He seemed to accepted her word straight from the off."

"She wasn't human," Hei supplied, surprising Misaki. "She had power… not an earthly power, either. I can't really explain it, but I'm pretty sure she came from the other side of the gate."

"The other side?" Oreille repeated, looking as shocked as Misaki had ever seen her.

"Yes, I dare say that I'm the only living person who has ever passed even partially through the gate. The feeling I had… the emotions it conjured up in me… I had the same feeling looking at that girl."

"Hei, I saw you pick up Yin and walk away with her in your arms," Misaki began, "did you take her…"

"Don't ask me about that," Hei snapped. "I can't tell you anything. Even if I wanted to, I don't think I fully understood what I saw or experienced that day. It was just completely outside of anything I've ever encountered before and I wouldn't even be able to begin to describe it."

"Interesting," Oreille pondered. "Madam Hoshimi, eh? I confess, I rather lost track of her shortly after they closed the National Astronomical Observatory. I had meant to put some resources into tracking her down but, well, other things happened and I admit I rather forgot about her. Are you sure your father is the only person who knows where she is, Misaki? I'm sorry to say, but trying to rescue him will be a virtual suicide mission."

"If Hei is with me, I believe we have a chance," Misaki said firmly.

"Really? Well, BK-201, are you ready to risk everything to try and get to Naoya Kirihara? I don't recall you ever being too keen on returning to your homeland."

"We have no choice," he replied bluntly. "This is too important not to try."

"Very well," Oreille agreed. "The more I think about it, the more I believe you're right. I'll arrange for the appropriate documentation for you both and make travel arrangements. Once you get to Yunnan, however, you'll be on your own."

"Make us newlyweds," Hei suggested. "I'll be a Chinese businessman who spent time in Japan and met Misaki there. We fell in love and married on a whim, now I'm returning home with my new bride. It would explain why she can't speak much Chinese."

"That could work," Oreille allowed. "I'll have to give you credentials of someone fairly prominent in the Communist Party, though. I doubt the authorities in China would be very happy with a run of the mill businessman turning up with a foreign bride, otherwise."

"Good idea," he agreed.

"Hmm, it will take me a little while to rustle up some decent papers and I get the feeling we don't want to rush this. It might be a week or two before I can put everything in place."

"That's fine," Misaki interrupted. "Oh, by the way, while we're here in the Philippines, we'll only need the one hotel room. Hei can move into my room."

Oreille raised an eyebrow.

"Why, Miss Kirihara, I'm positively shocked. I would never have taken you to be a person who sleeps with the enemy."

"Hei isn't my enemy," Misaki responded. "In fact, even you would have to admit we're all on the same side now."

"True, but perhaps I know rather more about his history than you do. Or maybe I don't. I'm not judging you, Misaki, and, Heaven knows, you've always been rather obsessed by him."

"I was just doing my job," Misaki protested. Out of the corner her eye she could see Hei smirking ever so slightly.

"Yes, you just tell yourself that, dear," Oreille responded, leaning forward and patting Misaki's knee in a condescending way. "Still, I'm not going to tell you what to do with your life and, besides, having Hei back on the team is a huge bonus. I've always thought of him as the best Contractor out there."

"So, you'll get us the documents and whatever intel is available on this prison camp Misaki's father is being held in?" Hei asked, ignoring the compliment.

"Naturally, and, assuming you're moving into Miss Kirihara's room, I can guess what you'll be doing while you wait for it," Oreille smirked.

Hei just glared at her.

* * *

Misaki peered out of the window of the car, somewhat surprised at what she saw. Not half-an-hour before they had landed at Kunming Changshui International Airport, and that had been a surprise in itself. She was used to busy, bustling airports, but Hei had informed her that Yunnan was the poorest province in China and was riddled with poverty, drugs, and crime. As a result, she hadn't been expecting the huge, immaculately clean airport. From the guarded expression on Hei's face, she gathered he hadn't been, either.

They were maintaining the façade of being a newlywed couple, with Hei acting as a highly successful businessman who had found himself a pretty Japanese wife and was now returning home. To maintain the illusion, Hei was dressed in an expensive, tailored suit and his usually untamed hair had been groomed into a fashionable cut. Misaki was playing the role of the dutiful wife, in a knee-length skirt, matching jacket, and high-heels. She clung protectively to his arm, projecting the image of a new bride who had just landed herself a handsome, successful man and was going to make damn sure he didn't get away.

As they had walked through the airport with an attendant bringing their luggage close behind, Misaki couldn't fail to notice the many glances they were receiving. Some were admiring, perhaps noting the attractive young couple with approval, while some were outright hostile. She'd puzzled about this for a while until she noticed that the approving looks were coming from the obviously more affluent travellers, while the hostility was coming from those that looked more down-and-out.

At first, this had shocked her as the police in Japan normally garnered respect from the country's citizens and she found herself completely unprepared to be glared at just because of the way she dressed. After a while, however, she secretly started to enjoy herself. They did, it must be said, make a striking couple and Hei seemed more than capable of stepping up to the role of an important businessman. While she'd first fallen for him when he'd been posing as the affable but scruffy Li, she had to admit this persona was highly attractive, too. The man scrubbed up well.

After handing the attendant a lavish tip, Hei had summoned a taxi almost effortlessly and instructed the driver to take them to the best hotel in town. There was a metro service into Kunming, but people of their social standing would never have lowered themselves to use it.

So much for the great communist revolution.

Kunming itself was also exceeding her expectations. A small part of her was almost resentful that the city could match any in Japan, except her beloved Tokyo, of course. There was rather more air pollution than she was used to, however, and a hazy smog hung over the place, partly obscuring the multitude of skyscrapers and high-rise buildings that seem to stretch out endlessly before her. Even so, it was an impressive place.

"This city really isn't how I pictured it from your description," Misaki muttered to Hei.

"It isn't what I expected, either," he admitted. "Yunnan Province has always been known as the poorest in China and I've heard tell of major drug problems and even an AIDS epidemic. Mind you, this is the first time I've ever visited the place and I did leave China a long time ago, so things have obviously changed since then."

"Where do you come from?" she asked, realising she'd never asked him before.

"A place on the outskirts of Shanghai. Mind you, I expect that's changed a lot since we left, too."

"Perhaps we could visit it again, one day."

"No, I've no desire to go anywhere near that stinking hole ever again," he growled.

Presently, the taxi pulled up outside a lavish hotel that went by the name of the Green Lake Hotel, no doubt due to the expanse of water next to it. The place was opulent and obviously quite exclusive, but Hei managed to secure them a room without much difficulty despite them not having reservations. In his current persona, he oozed power and money, and the staff practically fell over themselves to help.

They soon found themselves in a rather lovely room that had soft lighting contrasting with the dark, intricately-carved Chinese furniture. Normally, Misaki would have been delighted to find herself in such a charming room, but she had other things on her mind. Now that they were here in Kunming, the idea of rescuing her father was starting to seem very real and she was eager to get started.

As soon as the bellboy had closed the door behind him, Hei immediately went into his normal routine of checking the room thoroughly for listening devices or hidden cameras. This time, Misaki joined him, using her keen policewoman's eyes to search every crack and crevice in the place. Only when they were satisfied that the place was clean did they sit down and relax.

"This is a good base of operations," Hei noted as he fixed them tea. "I talked to the girl on the reception desk and she said they can arrange for a rental car for us. From here we're pretty close to the main highway that will take us out west. We're only about forty miles from the site of the prison camp, so we can drive over there easily and do some preliminary reconnaissance."

"I'm surprised the place is so close to a major city," Misaki admitted.

"It's co-located with a major army base not to mention it accepts inmates from all over Japan and neighbouring countries, so it needs to be fairly close to a major airport."

"That's a good point," she admitted. "So, we can head out first thing in the morning?"

"Yeah, we'll just act like we're tourists going hiking in the mountains which shouldn't raise any suspicions. For tonight, we'll just eat and rest up for the rest of the evening. Tomorrow is likely to be pretty taxing."

"Hei… can I just say how much it means to me that you're doing this with me," she began. "I know you have other motivations in all this, but I don't think I would stand a chance in hell in rescuing my father without you. Thanks for risking your life to do that."

"You're right, I am primarily interested in the information your father can give us but, well, I guess we're partners now, and that means something to me. When I worked for the Syndicate, I admit I didn't always follow orders quite as strictly as I should have, and sometimes I made bad choices simply because I thought I was doing the right thing, but this? No, I have no doubts that this is the right thing to do, no matter how risky it is."

"Thank you," she said simply.

"No problem," he replied. "Why don't we get changed and head down for an early dinner? I'm feeling pretty hungry."

"So what else is new?" she teased.

"Hey, you can put it away pretty well, yourself."

She rose off the bed where she'd been sitting and threw her arms around his neck.

"I guess that's why we make such a good pairing," she told him. "We share so many common interests."

"Yeah, that and you're so handy with a gun. That helps."

"It certainly does," she agreed, before kissing him deeply.

They didn't make the early dinner sitting, after all.


	8. Chapter 8 – Within These Walls

**Chapter 8 – Within These Walls **

AN

Chapter 8 and things are getting serious. I hope I haven't made too many mistakes while depicting the Chinese military and fear I probably have somewhere – internet research can only get you so far.

Beta version not uploaded - thanks, Arnel. Definitely less 'gots' this time.

* * *

The guard watched with muted interest as the hard-top BJ212 pulled up to his guard position. With crisp efficiency, he walked to the driver's side of the vehicle and saw that it was being driven by a First Lieutenant that he didn't recognise. The man was wearing his camouflage combat uniform rather than service dress and, the guard noted, he looked to be one mean bastard.

"Your papers, sir," the guard demanded, being careful to sound suitable respectful.

"Here, Private," the officer grunted, shoving a sheet of paper and his ID card at him.

The guard quickly scanned the document. It was a transportation order issued by the headquarters of the 92nd Infantry Regiment who were posted nearby. The typed order showed that the officer, who was named Xú, was here to pick up documents relating to the camp's personal and their logistic needs. To the guard, it all looked extremely boring but no doubt to some higher-up in the chain of command it was all vitally important information.

He glanced at the ID card and noted that it must have been an old picture as it really didn't resemble the officer who sat in front of him a great deal. The man in the picture didn't look nearly as sharp or focused as the First Lieutenant. It must have been taken early in the man's career, the guard concluded.

"Thank you, sir," the guard announced, handing the papers back to the man.

"Can you direct me to the administrative block?" the Lieutenant asked. "This is my first visit to the camp as I've only recently transferred in."

"Of course, Comrade Lieutenant," the guard responded. "Drive down this main road until you come to the main camp. Keep going, keeping the prison buildings to your right, until you see a group of single-story structures on your left. Those are the administration buildings."

"Excellent. Thank you, Private."

"Sir!"

The guard signalled to his fellow soldiers who immediately opened the gate. The small, jeep-like vehicle drove through and began to head in the direction that the guard had indicated.

"Who was that? I didn't recognise him," the guard's friend asked as he headed back to his post.

"Some new officer from the 92nd," the guard replied with a shrug. "He's here to pick up some paperwork."

"Oh," his friend grunted and instantly lost interest.

The guard returned to his position, trying not to look as bored as he felt.

* * *

"You can come out, Misaki."

As soon as the vehicle was out of sight of the main gate, Hei called out to his partner. Misaki's head emerged from beneath a tarpaulin that was in the back of the jeep.

"Amazing, they didn't even search the vehicle," Misaki muttered as she climbed into the passenger seat.

"Why should they? This is a big camp and there are people coming and going all the time. I'm dressed in a PLA uniform, driving a PLA vehicle, and I have the correct documentation. They had no reason to search us."

Misaki nodded. As she had suspected, she would never have been able to gain entry to this prison camp, or Provincial Correctional Facility No 6 to give it its correct name, without Hei.

For the last four days, they had driven from Kunming early each morning, left the rental car in a hidden location, and walked to the prison camp to check the place out. After just a few hours of covert observation, Hei had declared that just trying to break into the prison was a no-go.

While Misaki had voiced the opinion that the facility didn't look that difficult to infiltrate, Hei pointed out the double fence surrounded by open space that allowed no cover, the profusion of TV cameras mounted everywhere and no doubt backed up by motion sensors, and a suspicious area of rough ground beyond the fence which he suspected might be mined. To add to all that, Hei's sharp eyes noted a track that ran parallel to the two fences which he explained was probably for guard dogs. The prison, he concluded, was very well designed and they would almost certainly be noticed if they tried to break in.

Their attention, therefore, shifted to the army camp located nearby. The security for this place was far less formidable and on two separate occasions, Hei broke into it to scout anything useful. On the third night, he located the camp's administration building and found stacks of useful forms, some of which he appropriated. These provided him with the required papers to enter the army-run prison facility.

They had then checked out of their fabulous hotel, not that they had much opportunity to sample its services, and had headed back to the army camp. The previous night, Hei had once again broken in and, from a covenant rooftop, mounted surveillance on the officers' accommodation block. It had been several hours before a likely candidate appeared, a man that was roughly the same size as him and had a passing resemblance, and Hei followed him back to his quarters. It had been child's play to overcome him and Hei hid the body under the floorboards of the man's own bedroom. Having appropriated the dead officer's uniform and ID, he then managed to steal a vehicle without much difficulty. No one thought to question an officer simply taking a jeep, after all. Both the officer and the vehicle would be eventually missed, but they intended to be long gone by that point.

"Keep your head down," Hei instructed her. "I'm going to park next to the administration building as I was instructed. That way if the guards decide to mount a patrol they'll see the vehicle right where it's meant to be."

"Sounds like a good idea."

They drove past the nondescript, concrete block that was the main prison and soon arrived at the administration building. Hei parked and immediately announced that he was going to go in and see what information he could find. Before Misaki could stop him, he'd hopped out of the vehicle leaving her to cower in the back, trying to remain unseen. It was a good half-hour before he returned.

"You took your time," she hissed at him.

"Maybe, but it was worth it," he replied nonchalantly. "The admin section is run mostly by civilians and they don't seem to be as inclined to look carefully at an officer's ID card as those guards were. I spun them some line about me being with the Military Police and that a local girl had lodged a complaint that a Private Wang had assaulted her. It turns out there are over twenty Private Wang's serving around this complex and those admin workers fell over themselves to help me find which one might be the attacker. In fact, they gave me a map of the whole complex and marked where I might find these various guys."

"You got a map?" Misaki gasped. "Wait, these admin workers; were they female?"

"Umm, yeah. What has that got to do with anything?"

"All the girls love a handsome man in uniform," she muttered darkly. "Anyway, have you figured out where my father is being held?"

"Yes, the admin staff were quite clear that I wouldn't be able to enter the high-security area, so I'm guessing that's where all the Japanese prisoners are being held. It's clearly marked on the map."

"Great. So, are we going to go with the plan we discussed to get in there?"

"Oh, yes," Hei confirmed, holding up a pair of handcuffs. "You've been a naughty girl, Miss Kirihara. It's time to put these on you."

If the situation hadn't been so genuinely dangerous, Misaki had to admit she would have been getting rather excited at that moment.

* * *

"Who are you? Report!"

Misaki eyed the rather rotund Major warily. He clearly wasn't expecting them and was suspicious. Indeed, she was surprised that they had managed to infiltrate so far into the high-security section of the prison without being seriously challenged. They'd made it to 'A' section, the place that Hei suspected the Japanese prisoners were being held, through a combination of the map that the girls of the administration section had supplied and his brash confidence. He'd led Misaki, handcuffed and apparently subjugated, through various checkpoints and crowded areas without anyone thinking it unusual. Perhaps it was a common sight but, now that they were at their intended destination and a new prisoner was clearly not due, things were becoming sticky.

"Sir!" Hei barked, "This is Prisoner 2658686 Misaki Kirihara. I have orders to transport her here. I believe her father is an inmate here, too."

The Major glared at them with piggy eyes.

"Yes, we do have a Kirihara here, but I wasn't expecting anyone else new. We don't even have the space to house her. Who authorised the transfer?"

"I'm not sure, sir," Hei bluffed. "I'm from the 92nd Infantry Regiment. All I know is that I was ordered to bring this woman here by my Company Commander."

"Ridiculous. Why would a mere Company Commander authorise such a thing? Where are your papers?"

"Right here, sir," Hei confirmed, holding out a sheaf of paper that Misaki knew were in no way related to any prisoner transfer.

She tensed as the Major reached out to take the papers. The guard room had two other occupants, both of whom were watching events with great interest. One was a fresh-faced Private who didn't look like he would cause much trouble but the other was a hard-looking Chief Sargent who she bet would be a handful. Misaki held her breath as the Major took the papers.

"Aaaaggghhh!"

The second the Major gripped the fake orders, he let out a piercing scream and collapsed in a quivering heap. Only Misaki could see that Hei had touched the man's hand with his finger.

"What's happening? What's going on?" the Sargent demanded, leaping to his feet.

"I don't know!" Hei cried in apparent alarm. "I think he may have had a heart attack!"

"What?"

The Sargent rushed over and knelt beside his fallen commanding officer. As he had his back to them, Misaki took the opportunity to tug on the chain connecting her handcuffs. As Hei had carefully cut through several links so that they would break easily, she had no trouble pulling them apart. Quickly, she grabbed Hei's pistol which was in a conveniently open holster on his belt and smashed the butt of the weapon down on the Sargent's head. He crumpled instantly.

While that happening, a knife magically appeared in Hei's hand and, in a silver flash, was hurled at the stunned Private. It embedded itself in the young man's chest up to the hilt and, with a strangled gasp, the soldier collapsed behind a desk out of sight.

"Quick, let's get these bodies out of the hallway and into the guardroom," Hei urged.

The two men were quickly dragged out of sight and dumped to one side. Misaki closed the guardroom door behind them and locked it. She turned to find Hei rooting through piles of papers on a desk, obviously looking for something. After just a few seconds he picked up a clipboard and waved it triumphantly at her.

"Your father is in cell C2," he announced. "I should imagine those are the cell keys hanging from that rack on the wall over there."

Misaki turned and saw the rack Hei had indicated. Quickly, she ran to it and almost immediately found the key she wanted. At the far end of the room was an open corridor which she was supposed must lead to the cells. Entering the corridor she found she was correct as on either side were a row of thick, metal doors. Trembling with excitement, she found cell C2 and unlocked the door.

As soon as she swung the heavy door open her nose was assaulted by a terrible smell. The cell reeked of rotting food and human excrement. The concrete walls and floor were virtually bare apart from a huddled lump in one corner, half hidden under a filthy blanket. With a gasp, Misaki realised the lump was, in fact, a human.

She ran to the corner and pulled away the blanket. There, lying on the floor wearing a thin, raggedy set of overalls was her father. Naoya Kirihara had always been a big, rugged man, but Misaki was appalled at how much weight he'd lost. He wore a scruffy beard and smelt like he hadn't washed in days. He was also shivering slightly and his eyes were unfocused.

"Dad?"

The man looked up at her for a moment before burying his face in his blanket again.

"Go away," he moaned. "Why are you torturing me?"

"Dad, it's me. It's Misaki."

"Don't lie to me," Naoya sobbed. "You're not Misaki, You can't be."

"It is me," she insisted. "Your little Misaki. I've come to rescue you."

"It's just a trick. All a trick. Just go away. Haven't you hurt me enough?"

"Dad, please…" she begged, trying to pull the blanket away.

"He thinks this is some kind of trick."

Misaki looked around and saw Hei standing in the doorway. He was staring at the huddled form of her father with a hard expression on his face.

"What do you mean?"

"We don't know what he's been through," Hei explained. "He's clearly been subjected to some extremely harrowing experiences that have left him shattered. I'm sure he's suffered multiple forms of both physical and mental torture until they broke him down. That could have involved many things… fake executions, faked escape bids… some of these tricks might have even involved you. Imagine if they'd told him you'd been killed some time ago. They might have even faked a news story to help convince him. They'd do anything to break down his will to resist."

"What do I do then?" she demanded.

"Simple, convince him that you are you," Hei replied. "Try telling him something that only the two of you would know."

Misaki stared at him for a moment before the enormity of what he had said to her hit. Her father had really been broken to the point that he didn't trust his own eyes anymore? Desperately, she began to trawl through her memories for something that only the two of them would have shared. Beloved childhood toys… the first time she rode a bicycle… fun things that they did on holiday… nothing seemed strong enough. Those were all things that any kid might have experienced. She needed something personal, that only the two of them might have in common…

And then it hit her.

"Dad," she began, turning back to the cowering man. "Do you remember what you said to me just after Mom died?"

Naoya Kirihara remained curled in a ball, but at least he had stopped whimpering.

"Do you remember? You told me that she wasn't really gone and that she would always be watching over us. Then you said that I would always have to think about that when I made decisions in my life and ask myself if Mom would approve. I've always done that, Dad, I've always tried to make her proud of me."

The battered man raised his head and looked at her with confusion in her eyes.

"It was hard, wasn't it? Those first few years. You were always working and I had to stay with Auntie Maki all the time. I had to grow up fast after Mom died. I didn't want you to worry about me, so I tried my best to stand on my own two feet. I really wanted you to be proud of me, Dad."

"Misaki?" Naoya whispered.

"Yes, it's really me," she assured him. "We managed to sneak in here after we stole travel papers and ID from the nearby army base."

"We?"

"Yes, this is Hei. He's Chinese and had no problem posing as an army officer."

"They… they said you'd become a traitor, Misaki. You'd abandoned the police and had joined some terrorist group. That isn't true, is it?"

"We're not the terrorist, Dad. You know what's happened to the Japanese Government. They're little more than puppets of the US now, aren't they? Believe me, that's just the tip of the iceberg. The things Pandora has been doing…"

"Pandora?" Naoya repeated, jerking as if he'd just woken up. "Misaki, you must stay away from those people! They'll do anything to achieve their goals and they're so powerful!"

"We know, trust me, we know," she assured him. "Don't worry about that now. We need to get you out of here. Once we're safe we'll sit down and talk."

"It's no good. It's too late for me. I can't leave."

"What are you talking about?" Misaki protested. "If you're weak, we'll support you. Don't worry. We'll find a way to get you out of here."

"You don't understand, my love," her father moaned. "I'm not just weak, I'm broken. I'm pretty sure my hip is fractured and so is my left leg. I haven't been able to stand for over a week. They put a bucket over in the corner for me to use, but I've haven't been able to reach it. I've been lying in my own filth, waiting to die. They've got everything they needed out of me, so they have no need to try and keep me alive. They've barely fed me for the last few days, not that I can keep anything down."

"We'll… we'll find a wheelchair! There must be a hospital or medical facility somewhere in this prison. If we can find that we can…"

"No, Misaki, that's not all they've done to me," Naoya interrupted. "For weeks now, they've been pumping me with these psychoactive drugs to break down my resistance. The stuff they gave me was powerful and incredibly addictive. That's how they're going to kill me, actually. The guards told me. They stopped injecting me yesterday and in my weakened state, my body won't cope. I'll die and it will look like a drug overdose. Unless you have access to whatever drug they gave me, and I don't even know its name, then I'm dead already."

"They could have been lying!" Misaki wailed, clutching at her father desperately.

"Misaki," Hei began softly, "I think I've heard of this drug. The Syndicate occasionally used it in extreme circumstances where they didn't care if the person they used it on lived or died. After a while, it's almost always lethal. I only ever heard of one guy ever surviving prolonged dosage and he ended up as a vegetable."

"You," Naoya said weakly, looking up at Hei. "Are you a Contractor?"

"Yes, I am."

"Then you can do what needs to be done. I've heard people in other cells going through the withdrawal symptoms and I don't want to go through that agony. Please, if you have a shred of mercy in your soul, kill me."

"Father! No!" Misaki screamed.

Hei walked over and knelt by the broken man.

"Part of the reason we managed to get clearance to try and rescue you is that you have information we need."

"Ah, so that's why a Contractor is helping my daughter," Naoya reasoned wearily. "You know, I still think this might be a setup but I'm past caring. I'll tell you whatever you need to know as long as you promise to put me out of my misery."

Misaki began to sob.

"We need to know where Madame Stargazer, Hoshimi, is," Hei explained.

Naoya, despite the pain he was clearly in, looked surprised. "Madame Stargazer? Whatever do you need her for?"

"The Mikata documents are incomplete," Hei told him bluntly. "We've been told that only Hoshimi knows the whole thing."

"I don't know," Naoya pondered. "I met her on three occasions and she never said a word to anyone the whole time I was there. They said she'd gone mad after all that crap that went down at Hell's Gate. Even if she does know, I doubt she'll tell you."

"Do you know where she is?"

"Yes, we stuck her in a small shrine in the Edogawa District, not far from the river. It's called the Toshogu Shrine and the curators there look after her. We didn't think anyone would bother looking for her there and, well, she seemed happy."

"Thank you. Did you tell your interrogators this?"

"No, they simply never asked me about her," Naoya confirmed.

Hei nodded before turning to Misaki.

"He's your father and I'll let you make the choice, but he's in a lot of pain and it's only going to get worse. All our escape plans assumed he would be able to at least partially walk and even if by some miracle we do get him out of here, he's not going to survive. Most likely, all you'll be able to do is watch him die in agony."

Misaki stared at him in horror.

"Please, my darling, I've had enough. Don't make me suffer anymore," Naoya begged.

"Is… is there no other way? There must be," she cried.

"No, it's too late. They destroyed me. I… please, just let me die with some dignity."

Frantically, Misaki turned her head between the two men, looking for some small sign of hope from either of them. She found none. She lowered her head in defeat and nodded once.

"Thank you," Naoya whispered.

"Do you want to go outside?" Hei asked. "I can take care of this."

"No, no, I'll stay," Misaki stated firmly, grabbing her father's hand.

Hei nodded and gently placed his hand on Naoya's chest.

"It's strange," the man muttered. "I never thought I would ever have cause to be grateful to a Contractor, but I am. You're a kind man. Please, just promise me that you'll keep Misaki safe."

"I will," Hei promised.

"Thank you. Goodbye, Misaki, my darling. I'm just glad I got to see you again one last time."

"Goodbye, Dad, I love you."

With those final words between the father and daughter, Hei sent a burst of electricity into the man's chest, stopping his heart instantly.

* * *

Misaki barely remembered getting out of the prison she had been in so much of a daze. In one way, it had actually helped, Hei later told her. When they had encountered a guard, he'd informed the man that she was a prisoner who had just been interrogated. Apparently, her shot-away state was exactly what the man had expected to see and just waved them on. Hei had been able to retrieve his stolen BJ212, hide her in the back, and had simply driven out the front gate.

The vehicle was fitted with a radio and Hei used it to monitor the situation. By the time an alarm went out, they were miles from the prison. They made it back to where they had left the rental car, changed clothes, and headed back to the city. The plan had been to get out of the area as quickly as possible, but instead, Hei elected to find a small, three-star hotel and booked them in. As soon as the door closed behind them, Misaki collapsed on the bed and began to cry.

Hei came and sat beside her, not quite touching her but letting her know that he was nearby. She sobbed for a good half-an-hour before she lifted her head and looked at him with red-rimmed eyes.

"Tell me we had no choice," she begged.

"We didn't," he assured her. "We would never have got him out of there and, even if we did, he still wouldn't have survived. You just saved him from a lot of pain."

"I guess."

"I'm sure they will realise that they are looking for a man and a woman pretty soon, but this is a city of over six and a half million people, and that's assuming they even think we came here. We'll contact Oreille and make some new travel arrangements to get out of the country. We'll need to get back to Japan as soon as possible."

"I suppose. I can't really think straight at the moment."

"That's understandable. Do you want a drink? They have a minibar here."

"No, I… on second thoughts, screw it. Yeah, I'll have a drink. Vodka, if they have it. Otherwise, I'm not fussy."

Hei went over to the cabinet that the minibar was mounted in. After a few seconds, he returned with a miniature bottle of vodka and a glass. Misaki ignored the glass and chugged the bottle in one go. She then drank a second one, followed by a small bottle of gin. After she finished that, she curled up on the bed and closed her eyes, gratefully letting oblivion claim her.

For a long while, Hei sat and watched her inert form. Eventually, he stood and pulled the covers over her. He bent and placed a light kiss on her forehead, before turning and sitting in a chair opposite the door. He didn't move from that spot for the rest of the night.

* * *

Their flight landed at Narita Internation airport without incident or drama. Hei and Misaki disembarked from their plane and passed through customs without a second glance being given to them. Misaki tried to occasionally smile and give the impression that she was a young bride returning from her honeymoon, but it was hard for her. In truth, she felt dead inside.

Hei hadn't really talked to her about her father's death but had maintained a constant, supportive presence. Sometimes she had the feeling that he was exasperated by her grief but he gave no outward signs of any annoyance and seemed extremely patient with her. Still, occasionally she just got this vibe from him.

Unsurprisingly, a large, black car with tinted windows was waiting to meet them. They climbed in the back and found Oreille waiting for them.

"Any problems getting out of China?" she asked.

"No, thanks to the fresh travel and identity documents you sent to us," Hei confirmed.

"Good. Misaki, my dear, I'm so sorry about your father. I had a horrible feeling that something like this might happen which is one of the reasons I didn't initially want you to try and rescue him."

"We did rescue him," Misaki insisted. "We rescued him from all the pain and misery he was suffering."

"That's a good way to look at it," Oreille agreed sympathetically. "Hei hinted you managed to find out where Madam Stargazer is, too?"

"Apparently she's at the Toshogu Shrine in the Edogawa District," Hei revealed.

"Hmm, never heard of it. Still, before we rush in I think I need to do a little digging for information. It's highly unlikely she will be unguarded and we need to proceed with caution," Oreille decided. "Misaki, is there anything I can do for you in the meantime?"

"No," she replied. "I could definitely use a few days to get my head straight. As long as Hei is with me I don't care where I go."

Oreille said nothing but raised one delicate eyebrow. Hei returned her gaze unflinchingly as if he was challenging her to make a comment.

"Very well. I know of a little place in the suburbs where you two can rest without attracting any attention. After I've had a chance to investigate this mysterious little shrine I'll contact you. I have a strong feeling that it needs to be the two of you who make direct contact with Madam Stargazer. You pair seem to be up to your necks in this whole affair and if the old woman is going to spill the beans, I suspect it won't be to anyone else."

Neither of them argued.

* * *

In the end, it was a full week before Oreille appeared again.

They had been staying in a nondescript apartment in the Yoyogi District, resting and letting Misaki heal. A small part of her hated the sudden reliance she had on Hei, but the loss of her father was a devastating blow to her and she needed his support. In her more reflective moments, she wondered if she was trying to replace the dominant man in her life with another strong man and, bearing in mind that Hei was a Contractor, she had to question if this was a sensible move. For her to be weak was almost unheard of, but with everything going on in her life, she had to admit she was struggling.

No matter what misgivings she had, the week's break had done her good. She made peace with the memory of her dear father, promising him that she would do her best to bring down the corrupt and wicked men that had imprisoned him, and she took comfort in the thought that maybe he was now reunited with her mother. By the time Oreille appeared, Misaki was ready to get back into the thick of things.

"I've investigated the Toshogu Shrine very carefully," the blond woman explained after they had gathered in the apartment's living area. "It's a funny little place and certainly not the location I would have chosen to hide someone like Hoshimi away. Even so, I'm fairly certain she is actually there. I've gathered several eyewitness accounts of an old woman matching her description living within in shrine's walls."

"Perhaps no one in power believes she has any further use," Misaki pondered.

Oreille actually laughed. "She's heavily connected to Hells Gate and I assure you that every world power is fascinated by anything even remotely connected to either of the gates. No, she may not be useful right at this moment but she hasn't been completely forgotten about yet."

"You think there will be a trap waiting for us?" Hei asked.

"Almost certainly. The question is, can a highly-skilled Contractor avoid any ambush and get the old woman out?"

"Yeah, I can do it," Hei confirmed.

"What about me?" Misaki objected. "I'm damned if I'm going to be left out of this operation."

"You'll be leading the backup team," Oreille assured her. "I'll arrange for a small group of operatives to be placed on standby to lend a hand if things go badly. You can monitor the situation and order them in if required. Is that okay?"

Misaki was about to object when Hei interrupted.

"That's a good idea. I can move more stealthily on my own and I'd appreciate knowing I'd have some help if I call."

Misaki didn't doubt that Hei was deliberately protecting her, but she had to admit the plan did make sense. They were, in all probability, deliberately springing a trap which might end up catching them all, but they had little choice.

They would raid the shrine the following night.


	9. Chapter 9 – EA-2277

**Chapter 9 – EA-2277**

AN

Okay, brace yourselves, this is going to be a rough one!

Beta version to follow on later. Once again, ignore any mistakes. They're not mistakes, they're an experiment writing style. Honest. 30/9/18 beta checked version now up. Thanks, Arnel.

* * *

"Report position two."

"Two, all clear."

"Three?"

"Same here. No activity."

"Four?"

"Nothing."

"Good. Stay alert and report in if you see anything."

Way to teach them to suck eggs, Misaki thought, but she was just so nervous that she couldn't just sit there and do nothing. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see the Syndicate mercenary crouched next to her grimace in disgust. Let him sneer – she'd seen just how effective his type was in South America.

Ignoring the man, Misaki raised her binoculars to her eyes once again. In the darkness, Toshogu Shrine looked quiet. A couple of lights here and there confirmed the place was occupied, but otherwise, nothing stirred. Damn it, what was Hei doing?

He'd infiltrated the shrine nearly ten minutes ago, leaving Misaki and four mercenaries to form a perimeter around the place to alert him if they saw anything. She knew he liked to move slowly and methodically, and that they had no idea exactly where Madam Stargazer was within the complex, but the waiting was still killing her. Perhaps she should…

"Position three; I have movement," the radio suddenly announced.

That particular lookout was sited to keep an eye on the rear entrance of the shrine.

"What do you see?" Misaki demanded.

"The back gate has opened and two lorries have entered. They don't look like trade vehicles… wait… troops! We have troops piling out of the back of the lorries. Damn! They've shut the gate so I can't see, but I'd put money on those uniforms being Pandora personnel."

"Shit! Hei, come in. We've got Pandora troops on location. Hei? Can you hear me, Hei?"

"No signal," the mercenary stated flatly. "He's probably somewhere our signal can't penetrate."

"We have to warn him!" Misaki retorted.

"No, blundering in now will probably do more harm than good."

"Screw that," she spat. "You four maintain watch but do not open fire unless either I call you or you are fired upon."

"Where the hell are you going?" the man demanded, making a grab for Misaki's ankle as she leapt up.

"Stay there!" she barked and was out the door.

Her position was opposite the main gate. Fortunately, she was close to the place where Hei had scaled the wall of the shrine, which was just around the corner. Trying to move as fast as she could whilst keeping to the shadows, she ran along the perimeter wall until she reached the spot Hei had gone in. As she hoped, the strong, thin wire he used to climb the wall was still there. Swinging her submachine gun across her back, Misaki grabbed the wire and pulled it taut. She then placed one booted foot against the sloped wall and began to haul herself up. She soon reached the top and flattened herself against the bricks, listening for any sound.

In front of her was a garden, half hidden in the darkness. There was no sign of movement and no sound save the trickle of running water somewhere. Satisfied, she swung her leg over the top of the wall, gripped the edge tightly, and let herself slip down until she was hanging by her fingers. It was a short drop to the ground and she landed lightly. Scanning the area again, she confirmed that there was still nothing moving within sight.

With the speed and grace of a leopard, she sprang forward, running towards the nearest building. Although they had only been able to obtain a sketchy floorplan of the inside of the shrine, they had comprehensively mapped the outside area and she knew where she was going. The doorway where Hei had planned to enter was nearby and all she had to do was skirt around this building to reach it. She set off.

Misaki soon found the door and, as she expected, it was unlocked. Hei had been there, she was sure, but she knew her problems would start once she was inside.

"Hei, can you hear me?" she hissed into her handset, hoping he would be in range now. Unfortunately, there was only silence.

Seeing no alternative, she slowly opened the door and peered in. Inside, she found a dark hallway that ran from left to right. She had no clue which way he would have gone and no means to find out. Gritting her teeth, Misaki entered and, on a whim, took the right-hand passage. The floors were highly polished and she felt a ridiculous guilt for not removing her footwear, but she pressed on regardless. The corridor led to what seemed to be a meeting room with two doors positioned on the far side. Working by the same logic, she walked over to the right-hand door and opened it. A further corridor greeted her and she immediately started down it. There was still no sound of a disturbance and she began to wonder if she wouldn't have been better staying outside after all.

The corridor led to yet another door which in turn opened up into a stairway. She entered and was about to head over to the staircase when suddenly the room exploded into light. Momentarily, she was blinded and raised a hand to block out the glare. She reached for her submachine gun but a loud, authoritative voice made her pause.

"Misaki Kirihara, you are surrounded by armed officers! Throw down your weapon and raise your hands!"

Blinking, Misaki looked around and was horrified to see perhaps a dozen men in charcoal grey uniforms with white body armour. All of them had assault rifles pointed directly at her.

Standing halfway down the stairs was a medium-sized man in a dark blue suit. He wore glasses and had an almost pleasant expression on his face. He smiled at her benignly.

"Please, Miss Kirihara, you really have no choice. We've been expecting you ever since you returned to the country. I really would appreciate it if you complied with my request. It would be such a waste to have to shoot you."

Grimacing, Misaki slipped the strap of her weapon off her should and let the gun clatter to the ground. Seeing no other option, she raised her hands in the air.

The question was, what were Pandora troops doing here and how had they known she would be there?

* * *

Misaki awoke with a start. For a second she was confused, but then she realised she was still in the same interrogation room she had been in when she dropped off. The bare walls were an off-white colour and the only furniture in the place was a couple of chairs, one of which she was chained to.

A rattling of the lock on the door revealed what had woken her from her sleep. A second later, the man she'd seen at the shrine entered, still dressed in his plain, blue suit. He walked over to the vacant chair and sat down.

"Apologises for the delay in coming and chatting with you, Miss Kirihara, but I was otherwise engaged mopping up the rest of your team. I'm pleased to say that's all been taken care of now."

For a second she stiffened, fearing what might have happened to Hei before she calmed down. She had no reason to trust anything this man, whoever he was, had to say to her.

"Perhaps I should start by introducing myself. My name is Nakamura. As you have probably gathered, I work for the Pandora Agency."

"Nakamura? You don't look Japanese," Misaki scoffed.

"No? Well, probably not. Still, that's as good a name as any, and you certainly don't need to know my real one. I, on the other hand, know a great deal about you, Miss Kirihara."

"Good for you. Do know my favourite baseball team, then?"

"The Yomiuri Giants," he replied without pause. "Your father used to take you to games at the Dome when you were younger. Ah, noble Naoya Kirihara. You must miss him dearly."

"Of course I do. You bastards arranged to have him locked up, after all."

"Pandora? Oh, no. That was the work of the US Government. He was considered a potential troublemaker and a political subversive, hence why the Americans packed him off to China. Not to mention all the sensitive information he knew about the gate and Contractors. Tell me, were you with him when he died? It must have been a great comfort to him."

"I don't know what you mean," she snapped.

"Oh, please, Misaki. We'll get nowhere if you keep lying about such simple things. You were spotted breaking into Provincial Correctional Facility No 6 in Yunnan, China, eleven days ago in the company of a man believed to be BK-201, a Contractor otherwise known as the Black Reaper. Several guards were later found dead, along with a single prisoner, namely your father. As he was already dying and you had no readily available means of getting him out or healing him, I surmise that you, or more likely BK-201, put him out of his misery."

There was nothing Misaki could do but glare at the man.

"I must say I am surprised, Miss Kirihara, that you, someone who so recently was dedicated to hunting down Contractors, should be seen in the presence of one of the most notorious ones. I gather you even shared a hotel room. I've never really heard tell of a Contractors abilities in the bedroom. Tell me, Misaki, was he any good between the sheets?"

"Fuck you," Misaki growled.

"Ah, perhaps not then. Not that it really matters, BK-201 is dead. He was killed entering the shrine. I don't think he ever knew what hit him, really."

"Like I would believe you."

"No? As I say, no matter. Even if he was alive he couldn't help you now. I do have to say, however, that your little jaunt to China has proved very beneficial to me. After all, you now have first-hand experience of what happens to someone who is exposed to EA-2277 for an extended period of time."

"What?" she snapped, although a feeling of dread had suddenly filled her.

"EA-2277," Nakamura repeated. "It's a highly effective truth drug, although it does frightful things to the recipient's body. Highly addictive, too. On average, those people who are unlucky enough to go through withdrawal from the drug die within five days, mostly from heart attacks. The few that do survive are driven insane by the pain and yearning. Every time. There has never been a recorded case of anyone surviving the long-term use of the drug. Makes you think, eh?"

"What do you want?" she demanded.

"Why, information, of course. Hopefully, we can avoid having to dose you up with EA-2277 as it is frightfully expensive and it might take some days for me to get the information I want. Still, if I don't receive cooperation or I think you're lying, we do have some in storage…"

"What is it you want to know?" she asked, desperately playing for time.

"Ah, that seems like a nice, positive attitude," Nakamura noted. "I'm sure it will be of no surprise to you what we want. We wish you to tell us about your trip to Heaven's Gate and, of course, where the second meteor shard is."

Misaki blinked. The second shard? There was a second one?

"I don't know anything about the first shard, let alone that there was a second one," she told him truthfully.

The man tutted and shook his head.

"Misaki, Misaki… I'm trying to help you here. We know that Suou Pavlichenko was the last person to possess the missing piece and that you contacted her. To say you don't know anything about the shard is clearly a blatant lie. Do I need to fetch the EA-2277?"

"No, I'm telling the truth," Misaki shouted. "Yes, I met the Pavlichenko girl, but not for long. She was taken by BK-201 not long after I met her. He took the Doll, July, too. Hell, you should know that I was working for Section 3 at the time."

"Yes, yet you later deserted from their ranks and took up with a terrorist organisation. By your own admission, you've been working with BK-201 recently, too. If anyone knows the shard's location I would put money on it being him. Shame he's dead and we can't ask him, but still. You must have discussed it at some point, I'm sure."

"No, we never talked about it."

"Really? You do surprise me, especially as you seemed to have spent so much time with him recently, too. I believe you both travelled to South America together, is that not correct?"

"No, we met each other when we arrived there. It was a coincidence."

"Yet, as far as we can tell, you two have been together ever since. Strange. He doesn't seem the sort of man that a respectable former policewoman such as you would associate with. Clearly, you must have trusted him to a degree. Were you lovers?"

"Mind your own damn business," she spat.

"I'll take that as a yes, then," Nakamura said with a smirk. "I can't imagine why you would have picked a Contractor to screw. Did he have some special talent in that department, or do you just get off on cold, emotionless types?"

"Hei isn't cold or emotionless, you idiot," she spat back. "Haven't you noticed? The Contractors are changing. The Dolls, too. They're becoming more animated and alive. They're showing more emotion. I'm pretty sure that soon you and your precious bosses won't be able to control them, at all."

"I know, and that's why we need to wipe them off the face of the planet and quickly," he retorted. "Can't you see that? We only tolerated them because they were rational and controllable. If we have them running around, acting on every whim and emotion, with their power, we could have a disaster."

"But you were trying to kill them even before they started changing," Misaki pointed out.

"Yes, and any rational and clear-thinking person would do the same. They are an aberration and a huge threat to humanity. If things had worked out at Hell's Gate we would have been free of them, but sadly that operation was placed in the hands of bumbling idiots. I won't be so careless. Actually, speaking of gates, what happened at Heaven's Gate?"

"I couldn't get near it," she admitted. "It's only partially opened. The centre is still blocked off. After the group I was with was ambushed and killed, I met up with BK-201 and we agreed to escape together."

"Hmm, that's fits with what we understand about the situation in South America. I don't believe that you just met up with that Contractor accidentally, though. I think you're lying to me, Misaki."

"No, I… I know about the significance of the core, I just have no idea where it is. Suou had it, I think, and I assume she had it with her when she died."

"No, there was no sign of it on her body, or that of July's, either."

"Strange things happen beyond the gate," Misaki pointed out. "Just because it wasn't there doesn't mean I have it."

"I never thought you did," Nakamura responded. "I think BK-201 had it."

"If he did, he never mentioned it to me and I never saw it on him."

"I see," Nakamura replied, nodding slightly. "You know, Misaki, I think I might actually believe you. Still, I can't leave anything to chance, can I?"

He stood and walked over to the side of Misaki's chair, before withdrawing a pouch from his pocket. From the pouch, he pulled out a syringe.

"No!" Misaki gasped. "I've cooperated with you! I've answered all your questions."

"As I said, I can't afford to take the risk that you're holding out on us, Miss Kirihara. Don't worry, though. I single dose of EA-2277 won't do you too much harm. For most people, the addiction doesn't cut in until the third or fourth dose. Every person is different, though. I once saw a six-foot US Marine go completely mad after just being injected the once. Still, I'm sure you're built of sterner stuff, eh?"

"You bastard! Let me go!"

"Do stop wiggling, Miss Kirihara. Trust me, you don't want to make me mess this up and have to inject you again."

Misaki watched in horror as Nakamura grabbed her arm and twisted it, before plunging the needle into a vein. She left a strange numbness beginning to creep up her arm and it became increasingly hard for her to think straight.

A moment later, everything went black.

* * *

Misaki awoke with a pounding headache and her stomach churning. After retching a few times, the inevitable happened and she vomited on the floor. She lay there, gasping for breath and desperately trying to keep her stomach under control.

After a few moments, she was able to raise her head and take in her surroundings. She found herself in a grey, featureless cell. There was no furniture, just a thin blanket that she'd been sleeping on and a bucket in one corner. With a foul taste in her mouth, she looked around to see if she'd been left anything to drink. She had not.

With a mounting sense of horror, Misaki noticed that the cell she was imprisoned within was not unlike that which her father had been kept. Fear began to gnaw at her when she realised the similarities between the situation he had been subjected to and her own present predicament. She was locked away, denied any legal recourse or guarantee of fair treatment, abused, and being injected with an appalling truth drug that at best would send her insane but more likely kill her dead after an agonising withdrawal.

And unlike her father, there was no one to rescue her.

Hei was dead.

No! A voice in the back of her head seemed to scream. He's not dead. Hei was far too good to get caught in a simple ambush that they had described. If they wanted to break her, why hadn't they show her his body? For the simple fact that they didn't have his body and he was alive somewhere right now.

The thought cheered Misaki immensely. She had no reason to trust anything that bastard Nakamura said. Hell, he hadn't even been prepared to tell her his real name. No, they were lying about Hei just to plunge her even further into despair. The more depressed she was, the easier it would be for them to break her spirit and make her willing to talk.

Not that she had anything to talk about, she thought bitterly. Nakamura seemed completely disinterested in learning anything about the Syndicate and she knew preciously little about the gates. Why did he keep insisting that she knew where the meteor core was? Why was the damn thing so important, anyway? It all made her want to beat her fists on the walls in frustration.

Shivering slightly, Misaki began to notice how cold it was in the cell. To make matters worse, she realised that she was no longer wearing the clothing she was captured in. Instead, she had been placed in a thin, orange coverall with nothing else underneath. Desperately, she hoped that it had been a female member of the Pandora staff that had dressed her so, but she doubted it. Making her feel violated would only serve their purpose.

Miserably, she slid over and rested her back against a wall. She pulled the thin blanket over her, memories of her father huddling pathetically under a similar cover haunting her. Would she end up despairing and begging to die like him?

Even if Hei was alive, she thought, what could he do? They'd been lucky in China as no one was expecting them to break into the prison. Here, wherever here was, would be different. Pandora would be on the lookout and unlikely to drop their guard. Hei wouldn't stand a chance on his own, even assuming he knew where to find her. Even if he enlisted the aid of the Syndicate, Misaki was sure that Oreille or Kobayahi wouldn't risk too many others to rescue her, and rightly so.

Misaki felt tears begin to run down her cheek. While she was sure Hei would never abandon her despite him being a Contractor, she didn't see what he could possibly do. Despite that, he was her only hope and a tiny flame of hope remained alight in her heart.

It was, after all, the only hope she had.

* * *

Grunting with pain, Misaki ground her teeth as the two Pandora thugs handcuffed her to the same chair she had originally been interrogated, although exactly how long ago that had been she couldn't accurately say.

If she had to make a guess, she estimated that it had been two days since she'd been captured. It was extremely difficult to make an accurate assessment, however. The cell she was being kept in was dimly lit permanently, meaning there was no natural division between day and night. Her meagre meals seemed to be delivered on an irregular basis, too. She was surviving on the occasional rice ball and few cups of water each day.

When they'd thrown open her cell door just a few minutes previously, she'd been filled with a mixture of relief and fear. Relief in that she would actually get to escape the confines of her increasingly rancid cell and fear in that she would probably face another interrogation.

The Pandora operatives left as soon as she was tied in place and almost immediately afterward Nakamura entered. He was still dressed in his immaculate suit and had a friendly smile on his face.

"Hello again, Miss Kirihara," he greeted her. "How are you today?"

"Shit," Misaki spat. "I'm cold, hungry, and thirsty, but you knew all that before you asked me, didn't you?"

"Yes, but your response provides us with some valuable psychological insight into your current state of mind. It's nice to see you still have a little fire in your belly. I do so hate dull conversations with people with no spines. So, what shall we talk about today?"

"How about the fact that you must realise that I don't know where the meteor shards are," she retorted. "After you pumped that filth into my veins you must have got all the answers you were after."

"Well, I'm not sure about that," Nakamura replied. "The trouble with EA-2277 is that some people are quite resistant to small doses of it and you, my dear, have only been injected once. While a lot of what you told us under its influence was quite enlightening, I still think you might have been able to hold out on us."

"You're kidding! Do you really believe I want you to use that stuff on me again? I know what it can do to a person and I'm not going to lie to you and risk it being used on me again."

"Sensible," he agreed, "but you're a very strong-willed woman, Misaki. As I told you, this matter is not something we can afford to take risks over."

"Why?" she demanded. "What is so important about a couple of lumps of stupid space rock?"

"You are joking, right?" Nakamura exclaimed, seemingly genuinely surprised. "You know the history of the gates and the work Professor Schroeder was undertaking."

"Schroeder was using a particle accelerator, wasn't he?" Misaki queried. "What has that to do with the meteor shards?"

"Oh, my, you are out-of-date, aren't you, my dear?" he chuckled. "The good professor's work has moved on since then. No, he's identified where we've been going wrong all this time and how the two gates are linked."

"They're linked?"

"Indeed, and for us to wipe those verminous Contractors off the face of the planet, we have to utilise both gates simultaneously. The shards are the key to all this and, we believe, the reason the gates opened in the first place. In fact, they are quite literally the keys, as it was them landing on earth that trigged the reaction that created both Heaven and Hell's Gate."

"Two tiny shards from a meteorite?"

"I know. Amazing, isn't it? Apparently, these small pieces of rock possess strange qualities that fractured reality as we know it. Schroeder always believed that his work with particle accelerators had the potential to do this, but these shards, for whatever reason, have the capacity to do so. Please don't ask me about the science behind it all as I don't have a clue. All I know is that Schroeder is confident that if we can place a shard at the exact centre of each of the gates at the same moment, we eradicate the Contractors and the Dolls, too. Moreover, the gates have the potential to be incredible sources of inexhaustible energy supply for us, too."

"Ah, I see," Misaki noted bitterly. "This is the real reason behind it all. You don't really care about the Contractors, do you? It's the energy supply you're after. So, America and China have done a deal where they both get a gate and cement their position as the major world powers. Seems a bit odd that America gets the one here in Japan and China gets the one in South America, though."

"Oh, I'm sure the powers that be will simply swap at a later date. Geographically, it wouldn't make a lot of sense now, would it? No, the current arrangement is simply to ensure good faith by both sides. As I said, this is all too important to take risks with."

"Then why tell me?"

"Because you'll never leave our control and no-one would believe you even if you did manage to escape. I simply wanted to understand why you, a loyal subject of Japan, is being treated in this manner. The information is otherwise worthless to you as you can't do anything with it. Sorry, Miss Kirihara, you are just a tiny cog in a massive and unstoppable machine."

"Then why are you continuing to interrogate me? Why don't you just shoot me rather than torture me?"

"As I have said repeatedly, we can't afford to take risks. There might be a vital piece of information wrapped up in that pretty head of yours and we can't afford to miss it. Besides, we have to keep you here, anyway, so we might as well ensure we've pumped you for everything you know."

"Why do you have to keep me here?" she demanded.

"Isn't it obvious?" Nakamura replied mockingly. "You're bait. We're hoping your traitorous colleagues will attempt to rescue you. If we're really lucky, maybe BK-201 will make the attempt and we can then capture him. After all, it's him that we're really after. Only he truly knows what happened at Hell's Gate last time and taking him out of the game will make us all a lot happier."

"You're laying a trap for him? Wait a minute! You told me he was dead just a little while ago!"

"A lie and under interrogation, you revealed that you knew it to be so. There doesn't seem to be any point in pretending in the circumstances, does there? No, we are waiting for him to reappear and, hopefully, he'll step into it to save his lover. Now, while we're waiting for your knight in black to arrive, I think it's time for you to have another shot of EA-2277."

As the man walked towards her with a syringe in his hand, Misaki felt her world collapse under her.

* * *

The second dose of EA-277 had a much worse effect on Misaki than the first had. She awoke in her barren cell with stomach cramps and a high fever. She had just enough strength to vomit once before she passed out again. When she next regained consciousness, she was shaking and sweating, not to mention she had rolled in her own bile. Too sick to really care, she managed to crawl to the dubious comfort of her blanket and curl into a ball.

Time seemed to drag interminably and she had no means of measuring it. Her sickness began to recede, but whether this occurred a day or a week after she was injected, she couldn't tell. Several times she awoke to find a small amount of food and water had been shoved into her cell, but this provided her with no clues to the passage of time, either. The water was eagerly consumed but she was barely able to nibble at the food. Slowly and surely, she felt herself become weaker and weaker.

Sleep became her only retreat from her misery and she dozed frequently. Occasionally, Misaki wondered at her apparent isolation and why the insidious Nakamura hadn't made another appearance, but she could only be grateful that he hadn't. She knew without a doubt that a third interrogation and the inevitable exposure to that vile truth drug would guarantee a slow, painful death for her. Better to lay in her cold, hard cell and count her blessings.

Of course, that state of affairs couldn't last.

She was awoken out of a dreamless slumber by the sound of the cell door opening. As Misaki opened her eyes, she was greeted by the sight of Nakamura, still dressed in his expensive suit, and a pair of Pandora soldiers standing over her. This was it, she realised, and a jolt of fear shot through her. She could taste bile in her mouth and she shivered at the thought of what was going to happen next.

"Well, it seems your friends don't think that highly of you, Miss Kirihara."

She looked up into Nakamura's smiling face for a second before his words finally registered in her sluggish brain. The Syndicate hadn't attempted to rescue her. Hei hadn't come. Perhaps the rational, Contractor-side of his personality had reaffirmed itself, convincing him that attempting to rescue her from an almost impossible situation just wasn't worth it. Maybe that was the right decision. It was her own, stupid fault for getting captured, anyway.

"So, they didn't walk into your trap, then?" taunted her captor weakly.

"No, they didn't. I can't really say I'm surprised, it was a longshot at best. It would have been a nice little bonus for the whole operation, but it didn't play out. Never mind. Still, I can't keep tying up Pandora's assets maintaining a trap that will never be sprung. Those troops have been reassigned to more useful work and you, well, let's say that the sole purpose of keeping you here is now defunct."

"So what happens to me now?" she asked. "Do I get to occupy a nice, cosy cell in China like my dad did?"

"Heavens, no. What would be the point in that? Heavens, no, that facility in China is for important political prisoners who may prove useful to us in the future. That hardly describes you now, does it?"

Misaki stared at him with unconcealed hatred.

"No, your sorry involvement in this whole affair will end in a simpler and, I think, more merciful way. A bullet through the back of your head is far more preferable than the horrors you would suffer in China, believe me. These men are here to take you to a suitable location where they will put you out of your misery. Goodbye, Miss Kirihara, and may you find rest after your journey to the other side."

Without a backward glance, Nakamura turned and walked out of the cell. The moment he left, the two Pandora thugs grabbed her by the arms and dragged her to her feet.

"Don't make this any harder than it has to be," one of them growled.

Too weak to put up any resistance, she allowed herself to be guided out of the cell and down and now familiar corridor. It seemed strange when they passed by the door to what had been her interrogation room and into parts of the complex she hadn't seen before.

They passed the occasional Pandora worker, some in uniform like her two guards, others dressed in suits or lab coats. None of them spared her a second glance and most of them hurriedly got out of their way. Clearly, they were aware of what was going to happen to her.

They continued on relentlessly, out of the maze of corridors and office spaces and into a warehouse-like space filled with huge racks, stuffed with boxes and containers, the contents of which she could not even guess at. On the far side of the room were large, power-operated doors, big enough that trucks could be driven through them. One of the doors was open and she could see that it was dark outside. No doubt she was being taken outside to be executed. At that exact moment, she wasn't sure if she cared or not. Even so, she began to drag her feet, not eager to hasten her own demise.

"Stop messing around," one of the guards snarled. "If you start…"

He never finished the sentence. As he spoke, a massive blast shook the whole building with enough force to make numerous boxes topple from their storage racks. The guards stumbled and, by reflex, pushed Misaki to the ground.

"What the hell was…"

A crack sounded and a muffled grunt came from the soldier. He collapsed to ground and blood began to pool around his head.

"What the fuck?" the other guard shouted, raising his rifle at the unseen foe. Another crack sounded and he was hit in the throat. He gurgled and clutched at the wound, his rifle clattering to the ground, although he managed to remain upright. A third crack was heard and the man slumped backward, dead before he hit the ground.

Misaki stared at the bodies for a moment, trying to process what had just happened. She turned to look out of the open door from where, she believed, the shots had come. As she peered into the darkness, a figure appeared. The person moved slowly and, as they were dressed entirely in black, could barely be seen against the dark backdrop.

As he approached, Misaki could make out more detail. He appeared to be quite tall and moved with an almost animal-like grace. He covered the distance between them quickly, and stood over her, looked down at Misaki through his white mask.

"You took your bloody time," she scolded him.

Removing the mask, Hei just smiled at her.


	10. Chapter 10 – The Wrong Path Home

**Chapter 10 – The Wrong Path Home **

Only two more chapters after this one, so we're building up to the finale. Some important discoveries are made and our heroes find themselves walking into danger once again. Sorry about the cliffhanger at the end but, you know, I am very evil, after all. Hopefully, I can finish this before my typing skills give up on me completely.

The chapter has now been beta checked. Thanks, Arnel.

* * *

"So, are you going to stand there smirking or are you going to help me up?"

Few people would have described the expression on Hei's face as a smirk, but Misaki had learnt to read his body language by now. What others would have called a blank stare, she recognised as being outright amusement.

Hei reached down and grabbed her hand, pulling Misaki to her feet. No sooner had he done so than she threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly.

"I knew you'd come for me," she whispered in his ear.

"Sorry it took us so long," he replied softly. "Pandora knew we might try a rescue attempt and had laid an ambush for us. We had to wait until they got bored and moved most of their men."

"I know. Nakamura told me."

"Who's Nakamura?" Hei enquired.

"My interrogator. He told me you'd been killed and then injected me with the same drug they used on my father. Don't worry, though, I don't think they gave me enough to get me addicted," she added quickly, noticing the icy look that had appeared in his eyes.

"I'll still kill the bastard," he grunted.

"Only if you get there ahead of me," she retorted. "By the way, your timing is impeccable. Those goons were just about to execute me."

"I know, we've been monitoring Pandora's communications," he explained. "When we heard the order had been given to dismantle the ambush and kill the hostage, we knew it must mean you. We'd been waiting for this moment and were able to mount a snap operation. Kobayahi is outside leading the mercenaries."

"That must explain why they were actually effective this time."

"Yeah. Anyway, we need to get you out of here. Can you walk okay?"

"If it gets me out of here I'll hop while balancing a crate on my head," she confirmed. "Actually, wait a second."

Letting go of her rescuer for a second, Misaki made her way over to the body of one of the Pandora soldiers and picked up his G-36 assault rifle. She briefly fished around in the dead man's chest rig and found a couple of spare magazines which she tucked inside her overalls.

"Ready?" Hei asked.

"Yeah, and I hope one of those Pandora bastards actually tries to stop us. I'm really in the mood to shoot someone."

"Yeah, well, don't get too enthusiastic. You can barely stand as it is."

"I know," she allowed, "but I'm just saying nothing and no one is going to stop me getting out of this hellhole."

"Let's go."

Hei slipped his arm around her middle, supporting some of Misaki's weight. Although her pride wouldn't allow her to admit it, she was nearly to the point of collapse and his gesture was extremely welcome. Together, they made their way out of the warehouse and out into the night.

"There they are!"

They turned their heads to see a group of Pandora soldiers running towards them from the left. There must have been at least two squads of them.

"Give me cover fire," Hei snarled. "I'm sure our snipers will help, too."

With those words, Hei shot a length of cable at the top of the warehouse and a second later vanished into the night. Seeing no immediate cover, Misaki dropped to her belly and took aim at the rapidly advancing soldiers. She fired a short, three-round bust and was gratified to see the man she aimed at fall.

Several more loud cracks could be heard and another Pandora soldier fell. Evidently, the Syndicate's snipers were still active as Hei had suggested, and they certainly seemed to have some skill. Smiling grimly, Misaki took aim at the next target and fired a short burst.

She'd just released the trigger when something blurred on the edge of her vision. Three of the Pandora soldiers, who were now less than one hundred metres away by this point, suddenly fell as a shadow flitted between them. Misaki immediately ceased fire and hoped that the Syndicate snipers would also realise what was happening. The Pandora troops had allowed Hei to get in close and that would be the last mistake they ever made.

To their credit, the men wearing the white body armour immediately reacted to the new threat but as Hei was already in the middle of their group they couldn't use their weapons without fear of hitting their own side. Several men discarded their rifles and drew their knives, only to be instantly cut down by a rampaging black shadow. Misaki watched, almost mesmerised, as Pandora's troops dropped, one by one.

"Misaki!"

A cry made her look around. Running towards her was a large man clutching a rifle in his arms. A smile crept onto Misaki's face as soon as she saw him.

"Goro!" she cried, scrambling to her feet.

Goro Kobayahi came to a halt before her and offered a steadying hand as Misaki's legs nearly gave out underneath her.

"Are you alright, Misaki?"

"Yeah, I'm okay," she replied before grimacing. "Actually, that's a lie. I feel like shit and I'm on the verge of collapse. You're a very welcome sight."

"I'm just glad Hei was able to find you so quickly," the large man replied. "Indeed, it looks like the Black Reaper has disposed of Pandora's lackeys."

Look behind her, Misaki saw Hei had indeed polished off the few remaining troops and was jogging back towards them.

"Your snipers earned their pay," Hei told Kobayahi as soon as he arrived.

"Yes, I was pleased with their performance," he confirmed. "Oreille has many talents, but picking capable fighters isn't one of them. I was glad I was able to put my own crew together for this operation."

"Yeah, but I think we need to get out of here… fast."

"Agreed," Kobayahi said with a nod before reaching for the handset of the small, digital radio he carried. "All units; orange blossom. I say again; orange blossom."

"I take it that's the signal to withdraw," Misaki noted wearily.

"Yes, and not a moment too soon. You look dead on your feet," Kobayahi noted.

"Don't worry, I'll carry her," Hei offered and, before she could say anything, Misaki was swept up into his arms.

"Excellent. Well, let's get the hell out of here!"

A small part of Misaki's brain bitterly resented being carried out of the compound like a small child, but the larger part of her was grateful. She had been convinced that she was going to die, either with a bullet through the back of her skull or in lingering agony as Pandora's abhorrent truth drug ravaged her body. Now, she knew her friends hadn't abandoned her and she was cradled in the arms of the man she loved.

Frankly, there was no place on the earth that she felt safer.

* * *

Misaki awoke with the smell of coffee in her nostrils. She opened her eyes to see Hei standing by her bedside with a cup in hand.

"Morning," he greeted her. "Oreille's here and she wants to see you."

She took the coffee and took a grateful sip.

"Has she found something?"

"Yeah, she thinks so."

It was four days since The Syndicate had freed her from the insidious grasp of Pandora and Misaki was finally starting to feel like her old self again. Of course, she'd been examined by friendly doctors and had taken numerous blood tests, but they had assured her that there would be no permanent side effects of her incarceration.

For the last few days, they had been deposited in another safe house, this one in Meguro, while she recovered. Hei seemed to hover over her every waking moment, but she wasn't going to complain about all the attention he was giving her. Kobayahi and Oreille had visited several times, mainly to quiz her on every aspect of incarceration. Misaki had provided all the information she could remember, particularly on her mysterious interrogator, the dubious Mr. Nakamura. Oreille had left promising to see what she could dredge up about the man. Presumably, she had found something.

Misaki quickly drank her coffee, before pulling on some clothes. She found Oreille in the front room of the tiny house, reclining on the single sofa and looking like she owned the place which, Misaki realised, she probably did.

"Ah, Misaki, glad to see you're looking a little brighter today," Oreille announced by way of a greeting.

"Yeah, I'm feeling much better."

"Good, well, I have dug up some information that will make you feel even better," Oreille informed her. "For one thing, I've found out who your interrogator actually is."

"Really?"

"Yes, his real name is apparently Than Shwe, although I'm not one hundred per cent certain of that," she explained. "He is from Myanmar originally, although his mother was probably Chinese. He's worked as a low-level operator for Pandora for some years and never uses the same name on any two missions he undertakes. He's stayed off my radar simply because I didn't think he was particularly important. After I realised he was the man you described, I reviewed my files on him and I've been forced to change my mind. It appears this man is extremely skilled in hiding his involvement in all manner of schemes. I discovered a pattern where on the face of it he was dealing with some trivial, run of the mill problem for Pandora, whilst he was actually pulling the strings behind much more grandiose projects."

"It sounds like this bastard is important," Hei noted.

"Oh, I think we can definitely agree on that," Oreille confirmed. "Once I appreciated our friend was more than he appeared, I engaged a considerable amount of assets to investigate him and discover his current location. As it turned out, I didn't have very far to look. Mr. Shwe is apparently a regular visitor to the Ohara research facility, just twenty kilometres south of Tokyo. Again, I never paid the place much attention as I believed it was involved in work on military communications. Having scratched under the surface, however, I think there's more to the place than meets the eye. For instance, you'll never guess who I discovered was also paying visits to Ohara."

"Who?" Misaki asked.

"Why, our Dear Professor Schroeder, that's who."

"Schroeder!" Misaki gasped.

"Well, that fits into the story Nakamura, or whatever his real name is, told you about wiping out us Contractors," Hei pointed out. "I might have guessed that scrawny little rat was involved in this, somehow."

"So, Pandora is up to their same old games, are they?" Misaki snorted. "You would have thought they would have learned by now."

"This time, though, they seem to have a different motivation," Oreille pointed out. "What your helpful interrogator said about tapping the gates as an energy source might have some substance to it. A lot of people around the world have suddenly become interested in the gates again, including the United States Department of Energy. Why would they become involved unless there was some potential benefit that could be extracted from the gates? No, America and China have put too many resources and taken too many risks for this to just be about Contractors. I'm not saying the two issues aren't linked, but there's more going on here than we know."

"I guess I'm going to be paying a visit to this Ohara research facility, then, aren't I?" Hei noted.

"I'm coming too," Misaki quickly added.

"Misaki, I…" Hei began.

"No," she cut him off. "We're together in this now. Look what happened to me when we split up. For good or bad, we're staying together from this point."

"Naughty boy," Oreille scolded him. "Fancy suggesting running off and leaving your lovely little Misaki behind. Shame on you!"

"I guess I'm outvoted," Hei allowed grudgingly. "Okay, so both of us are going in. Any plans on how to get in there, Oreille?"

"But of course!" she confirmed smugly.

"Somehow, I thought you might," he replied.

"But before we go into that, don't you think it's time you introduced Misaki to our visitor?"

"Visitor? What visitor?" Misaki enquired.

"She's been with us since we raided the Toshogu Shrine," Hei revealed. "Hasn't said a word to any of us, though."

"I think she's been waiting for you to arrive, Misaki," Oreille added.

Frowning, Misaki let herself be led out of the room and down a narrow corridor. Hei guided her to a closed door and knocked on it once. Without waiting for an answer, he opened the door and gently pushed Misaki through it.

The room was dark as the curtains were drawn. Nevertheless, she could make out a small, hunched figure sitting at a small table. The person made no effort to look around to see who had entered but remained where she was, perfectly still.

Frowning, Misaki slowly walked towards the figure, intent on not startling the person. As she stepped towards the person, recognition began to dawn on her.

"Madam Stargazer!" Misaki gasped. "You found her!"

"Hello, child," the woman whispered, a small smile on her lips.

"Well, that's the most she's spoken since she arrived here," Hei noted.

"The players are all assembled and the board is laid out ready," Hoshimi announced. "We are ready to begin the ending. Who will win? Will the old stars return or the new ones remain? Who can say, for blind chance now plays its hand and the path of the Gods is unclear."

"Madam Stargazer," Misaki began. "I'm glad to know you're safe. Is there anything you can tell us about the Ohara research facility?"

"Giants waken from their slumber and seek to claim their prize. The Devil lays his breadcrumb trail but only the stars know the true path. You must grab the Devil by the tail even if he leads you down the wrong track. All paths are interlinked, so who is to say that the wrong path will not lead you home."

"Sounds like gibberish," Hei scoffed.

"Shush!" Misaki scolded him before turning back to the old woman. "Who is the Devil, Stargazer, and where is home?"

"Follow the path that you must, dear child, and everyone will find their rightful place. The stars will change and that which was created in error will be corrected. The time is coming and we will greet the old stars like long, lost friends."

"Madam Stargazer?"

"I will say no more," the old woman murmured and was still.

Hei signalled to Misaki for her to follow before he led her out of the room.

"Did you understand any of that?" he enquired.

"No, other than I think she just wants us to carry out our current plans. That was really all I could get from that."

"Maybe," Hei allowed, "but I don't like this talk of the Devil and his breadcrumb trails."

"Neither do I, but what choice do we have?"

"None at all," he agreed, "and that's exactly what I don't like."

* * *

Wearily, Hei made his way to the room he and Misaki shared. He'd left her talking with Oreille about their plans and the supposed meaning of Madam Stargazer's garbled message. He, however, was fed up talking and just wanted a few moments of peace to process everything. Things were coming to a head, he knew, and he had other things to consider.

It was only a slight surprise when he opened the door to the room that he found a young girl with beautiful blonde hair sitting on the bed.

"Hello, Ama," Hei greeted her. "I wondered when you would be putting in an appearance again."

"I had to wait until you were alone," the girl responded. "Really, it's quite sweet the way you spend all your time with Misaki."

"What do you need?" he asked, suddenly feeling very tired.

"Close the door and come and sit down," Ama instructed. "I have some important things to tell you."

Hei did as he was told.

* * *

The truck pulled slowly up to the gates of the research facility. Certainly, it was nothing for the guards stationed there to be concerned about as that very truck made deliveries there every week. The fact that the driver and his assistant were unfamiliar faces was no cause for suspicion, either. They had the correct ID and the same crews rarely made the trip two weeks in a row, anyway. The truck was waved in without ceremony.

Only when Hei gently pulled away from the gate did Misaki begin to relax. Thanks to Oreille's meticulous research and planning, they had discovered that the same catering firm made weekly deliveries to the Ohara research facility, taking the same route from their depot to the camp at around the same time every Tuesday. It had not been hard to infiltrate the company, gather information, and then ambush the delivery truck en-route to the facility. Hei and Misaki, both dressed in white overalls and matching caps they had taken from the bemused crew who had been led away to a safe location with the promise that they would be released in a day or so if they didn't cause trouble.

"So far, so good," Misaki noted as Hei carefully drove the truck along the narrow roadway.

"Don't jinx it," he retorted. "This almost feels too easy. I suspect we haven't even begun to encounter the real security yet."

"True, but we're well prepared," she countered. "We ditch the truck up near those buildings, don't we?"

"Yeah," Hei agreed. They had managed to conduct a pretty through drone survey of the exterior of the camp and had their movements planned to the finest detail, at least for the exterior of the establishment.

They left the truck in the location they had planned and, ditching the overalls of the catering company, revealing Pandora uniforms beneath. They hid their old garments away out of sight, locked the lorry securely, and headed towards a large, two-story building around a hundred yards to their left. It was there that they believed they would find answers. Before he shut up the van, however, Hei retrieved a small bag which he slung over his shoulder.

"What's in there?" Misaki asked.

"Just something that's got me out of a few sticky situations in the past," he revealed, walking towards the building.

Their luck held as they entered the building. A Pandora technician who was going out at the same time even went as far as holding the door open for them. They found themselves in a nondescript corridor that featured a few noticeboards stuck on the walls and three doors at the end. Naturally, they had no idea which way to go so they picked the left-hand door at random. This, in turn, led to a larger room containing what looked like power generators. Deciding to explore more, they entered.

"This looks like a lot of capacity," Hei noted. "You could power a small city with all this."

"Yeah, but do you have any idea why they need that much electricity?" Misaki asked.

"No clue," he admitted. "I guess we keep looking."

They followed a service path between the large, humming machines and Misaki noted that they were walking on a downward slope. Soon, they reached a metal platform which had stairs that led downwards. Seeing nothing else for it, they descended further down into the facility, Misaki cringing at the metallic clucking sound she made with every step she took.

The steps eventually led to a large, hanger-like space obviously used for storage. The dim strip-lights gave the place an eerily glow.

"This place is much bigger than we thought," Misaki noted.

"Yeah, kinda makes you wonder what they're doing down here and why they need to generate so much power."

"Let's press on," she insisted.

The large space proved to be more of a gigantic corridor than they had at first thought. As they walked through the echoing structure they became aware that it continued back far further than was first apparent. Indeed, the hallway curved and they were soon confronted by a huge passageway that stretched out beyond sight.

"Okay, this is creepy. This place must lead to the outskirts of Tokyo," Misaki muttered.

"Maybe not quite that far," Hei corrected before pointing ahead. "Look, to the left, there's a side passage. Let's check it out."

It took them several minutes to reach the spot Hei had indicated. It proved to be an inset doorway rather than an actual passageway, but the 'no entry' sign mounted above it was enough to capture their interest.

"It's locked," Misaki informed him after trying the door. "Do you think you can get it open?"

"It seems to be linked to an electrical circuit," he announced after a brief examination. "That means…"

He placed his hand on a keypad mounted next to the door and shot a bolt of electricity into it, frying the circuits instantly. It still required a good kick from him to get it open, but the door obligingly swung open, anyway.

Peering in, they could see another, huge, empty room. On the far side, however, was a metal stairway that led to a gantry that ran all along the walls of the room, a good twenty feet up. More promising was the fact that there were various doors mounted at regular points all along the gantry.

"Going up?" Hei inquired.

"Better than walking down that damn corridor forever and a day," she responded.

They entered the room and headed towards the stairs. They had reached the middle of the huge space when one of the doors above them opened and a man in an immaculate suit emerged. He paused at the railing and looked down at them.

"Miss Kirihara, so good to see you again," he called, "and BK-201, no less. Pleased to make your acquaintance."

"Nakamura!" Misaki cried out in horror.

"Indeed, although I assume by now that you understand that is not my real name. However, for the duration of this operation, it is what I would like to be known by, so I will crave your indulgence and ask you to continue to refer to me by that name."

"So, you saw us enter, did you?" she challenged.

"Saw you? My dear lady, I've been engineering your arrival here since before you landed in China all those weeks ago. I must say, Madam Oreille does have a fearsomely efficient intelligence network, but mine is better."

"To what purpose?" Hei demanded. "Why did you want us here? Is it something to do with all those generators?"

"Ah, BK-201. I have to say, your looks really don't match up to your reputation," Nakamura stated smugly. "Of course, I'd be the first person to say that you should never judge a book by its cover. No, my reasons for wanting you here are nothing to do with generators or anything else in this facility. My reasons are more to do with what's not here."

"Explain," Hei snapped.

"Oh, you want the classic villain's exposition, do you? Well, I'm afraid I will have to stop short of that. I will offer you a little clue, however. There is absolutely nothing of value or use to you in this entire complex, which is why I lured you here."

"What are you talking about?" Misaki yelled.

"It's just what I say," Nakamura explained amicably. "I am a man who likes to research his opponents carefully and also learns from the mistakes of others. Pandora has suffered some major setbacks in recent years that have cost us greatly. These defeats have all had one thing in common – the involvement of the man standing next to you."

"Hei?" Misaki gasped.

"Ah, he's calling himself that at the moment, is he? Fine, I'll go with that. Yes, your friend Hei has been involved each time Pandora have encountered defeat in recent years. From our efforts to wipe Contractors and Dolls from the face of the planet to our plans to take control of Hell's Gate, he has always been at the heart of our downfall. Ironically, the only time our operations went unhindered was when he was working for us, admittedly indirectly through what was the old Syndicate. As I was tasked with ensuring our latest project was successful, I decided that the only way I was going to make sure BK-201 didn't get involved was to make sure he was working for us again."

"What?" Misaki exclaimed.

"I would never work for you people again," Hei snapped. "You bastards tried to kill me. You took Yin away from me!"

"Oh, we didn't tell you that you were working for us, but that's what you've been doing, in effect, for some time. Miss Kirihara there, too."

"You bastard! I would never…" she began.

"We've been drip-feeding you information ever since the pair of you arrived back from South America," Nakamura revealed. "Since previous attempts to kill BK-201 had proved unsuccessful, I decided that misdirection was a better idea. First, I let slip to Oreille's network where your father was being held, Miss Kirihara, and then made sure that Naoya Kirihara was bound to mention Madam Stargazer, whom we had placed at Toshogu Shrine. Capturing you was actually a bonus, as that had not been our real intention. Still, it worked perfectly, as I could reveal myself and then, in turn, lead you here. My plan has worked to perfection."

"What possible purpose could you have for dragging us around by the nose like this?" Hei demanded.

"Quite simply, you filthy Contractor, I was simply making sure that you and your whore there were kept as far away from our real operation as possible."

"What?" Misaki gasped. "All this effort… all this manoeuvring… just to distract us? Why didn't you just try to kill us instead? You had plenty of opportunities."

"Yes, and we have made numerous attempts on BK-201's life in the past, and he's still here and all the people we sent after him our dead." Nakamura pointed out. "If I believed in such things, I would almost say that he is being watched over by some divine power. No, it was better to lead you here and let you waste your time running around these big, empty halls while elsewhere we complete our final preparations. Very soon, every Contractor and Doll in the world will be gone, as will those infernal gates."

"But you said you needed the gates as an energy source," Misaki protested.

"Yes, I did say that, didn't I?" Nakamura confirmed with a smirk. "It's not just you two that I've been misleading, I'm afraid. Do you really think that the governments of the United States and China would devote so much time and resources to this project unless they thought they were getting something out of it? No, they will shortly be in for a rude awakening, too. Nothing will be Pandora's fault, of course. In fact, the way this has been set up the two superpowers will end up blaming each other for the gates' destruction. Who knows, it might even end up in a war, but that is of no concern to us, and you two won't be in a position to care, either."

As soon as the words had left Nakamura's mouth, the various doors situated along the gantry were flung open and armed Pandora troops stormed out. Their boots rattled loudly on the metal walkway as they fanned out and occupied every foot of space. Misaki guessed there must be fifty or sixty of them, and they all had their rifles pointed at Hei and herself.

"I know that you're good, BK-201, but I really can't see how you can possibly get out of this situation. Still, console yourself that even if you weren't about to die in a hail of bullets now, that you'd be dead in an hour or so, anyway, as will every Contractor on the planet. Goodbye, BK-201 and Miss Kirihara. It was nice knowing you."

The Pandora troops all opened fire as one.


	11. Chapter 11 – Breaking the Chains

**Chapter 11 – Breaking the Chains **

**AN**

Wow, we're nearly to the end of this, just one more chapter to go after this one. My thanks to Arnel for checking this and the previous chapters over, even if she'd never even heard of DTB. Trust me, it's not the easiest show to try and describe in just a few paragraphs!

* * *

"Get down!"

Not giving Misaki time to react, Hei pushed her to the floor whilst grappling with the contents of his backpack which he'd fortunately been allowed to slip off his shoulders without a reaction from the Pandora soldiers. He managed to pull out the contents and throw it over the both of them just as the first shot was fired.

The sound of the gunfire was deafening, but fortunately, his bullet-proof coat was sufficient to protect them from harm… just.

"Misaki, we can't stay here," he shouted above the roar of the guns. "This coat will only take so much damage and we're being pelted from all sides!"

"What is this?" Misaki nearly screamed, clearly not understanding why they weren't both dead yet.

"Never mind that, we need to move," he insisted. "Start crawling back towards the door, as fast as you can. Make sure we move together or the coat won't cover us."

"O…okay," she gasped and started to crawl.

"Faster, move faster," he insisted. The guards had clearly realised what was happening and were intensifying their fire. Hei could feel the impact of the bullets through the coat against his back. No doubt he would be black and blue later, not that it mattered. Unless they made it out of this killing zone quickly they never would. Misaki at least seemed to have grasped the situation and was crawling on all fours as fast as she could.

"Stop them!" he heard Nakamura yell. "Get some personnel down there!"

The door was only a few feet away now.

"Get ready to sprint," Hei shouted to Misaki, "but keep low!"

"Okay," she responded through gritted teeth.

"Now!"

Together, they lurched to their feet and ran the last few feet to the door with bullets hissing round them. Hei felt something tear at his lower leg and realised that he'd been grazed by a ricochet but, fortunately, it didn't seem serious. Luckily, they'd left the door open so they were able to scramble through and slam it closed behind them.

"Now what?" Misaki demanded. "This whole place will be alive with Pandora soldiers by now and I don't even have a weapon."

"Back the way we came," Hei told her. "We'll worry about Pandora as we encounter them."

They ran as fast as their legs would carry them until they were back into the cavernous main passageway. A quick glance revealed no enemies in sight.

"Why no guards?" Misaki demanded.

"Perhaps they were certain they would kill us back in that room," Hei suggested. "More likely is that they have troops positioned at all the main exits and are just waiting for us to come to them."

"Makes sense," she agreed. "I guess the best option would be for us to continue down this hallway and find out where it leads."

Hei paused.

"No, I don't think so," he disagreed. "I don't know why, but that seems like it's too obvious a ploy. For all we know, that could be a dead end and we'd be like rats in a trap."

"But you said that Pandora would be waiting for us if we went back the way we came," she objected. "Remember, I'm unarmed and you only have your knives."

"Yeah, I know. I just have this feeling that going down that passageway will be the death of us."

She stared at him for a moment before shrugging. "Okay, you're the expert at this sort of thing. I'll be guided by you."

They turned and headed back the way they'd come. They hadn't taken two steps before a loud squeal assaulted their ears and a voice rang out through the hallway.

"Hello there, Miss Kirihara and BK-201. Can you hear me?"

"That's Nakamura's voice," Misaki snarled.

"Ah, good. You obviously can," the voice stated. "I can see you, you know. This entire complex is covered by CCTV. I can follow your every move."

"Shit," Hei snapped.

"I have guards heading for the exact spot you are standing even as we speak. You do realise that trying to run is just pointless, don't you? I strongly suggest that you sit down and place your hands on your heads, and someone will be along to take you into custody in just a moment."

"Run," Hei yelled, dragging Misaki behind him. "If they catch us here in the open we won't stand a chance."

Misaki didn't need to be told twice. She didn't believe for a second that Nakamura intended to take them alive and that by capitulating they would just end up with a bullet through the forehead that much quicker. They ran back along the tunnel as fast as they could.

They made it to the metal stairway that led to the generator without being challenged.

"Quick, if we make it to the top before the troops arrive we have a chance," Hei urged.

With her legs burning from the strain, Misaki ran up the rickety stairway at lightning speed with Hei just ahead of her. They had just a few more steps to go when a soldier dressed in black with white body armour appeared in the doorway above. He raised his rifle instantly at the sight of them.

"Down!" Hei yelled, diving to the floor.

A split second later, a thin wire shot from his hand and wrapped around the soldier's neck. The man screamed as a massive jolt of electricity hit him and he fell, dead before he hit the floor.

Shouts came from somewhere inside the generator room and Hei scrambled up the fast few steps and flattened himself against the wall, knife in hand. The next person to step through the doorway wouldn't stand a chance.

Misaki too climbed the last few steps but paused to pick up the soldier's discarded rifle. Expertly, she checked that a round was chambered and that the safety was off, before retreating a little way so only the top of her head protruded over the top of the stairway.

"Keep an eye below us," Hei instructed. "They may come from that direction, too."

"Okay, but what do we do now?"

"I'm thinking," he snapped.

Knowing they were fast running out of time, Misaki looked around desperately seeking a solution to their problem. Her eyes soon fell on the dead Pandora soldier.

"Hei, on that man's belt," she hissed.

"I see it."

Hei bent and grabbed the hand grenade that had been secured to the dead man's webbing and, without hesitation, pulled the pin. He paused for what seemed a stupidly long time in Misaki's opinion, before throwing it through the doorway. There came a startled cry which was almost instantly cut off by the thunderous roar of the grenade exploding.

The moment the grenade had gone off, Hei lunged through the doorway. Misaki reacted slower but was soon hot on his heels. As soon as she had followed him through into the generator room, she dropped down to one knee and levelled her rifle seeking targets. Instead, all she saw through the dust and debris was the sight of Hei finishing off a Pandora soldier with his knife. Several more bodies were scattered around the floor, either more victims of her ruthless lover or having caught a piece of the grenade. Either way, the immediate way forward was clear.

"Come on," Hei urged her, walking forward.

"Just let me grab some more ammo from the bodies," she told him, quickly rifling through the nearest man's magazine pouches. Having found several full magazines, she stuffed them in her pocket and rose to join him. "Okay, I'm ready."

"Let's go," he agreed and they began to run once again, passing the monstrous generators on either side of them.

They were nearly to the end of the huge room when Hei stopped suddenly. He darted off to the side towards what Misaki assumed was the control station for the generators. He paused and started examining the panels with interest.

"What are you doing?" Misaki nearly screamed.

"All this power – Pandora must need it for something, right?"

"We don't have time…" she began.

"Don't worry, this will only take a second," he assured her, before placing his right-hand flat against the control panel. There was a bright flash and the panel exploded in a shower of sparks.

For a second, there was no discernible change, but then a massive groaning sound started to reverberate through the vast hall. The nearest generator began to shudder and the ever-present constant drone of the machines began to fluctuate. Then, like the sound of some huge monster dying, the generator began to shut down.

"Safety lock-down," Hei explained. "The system is designed to stop if there's a problem with its monitoring controls."

"Super. Now, if you've finished vandalising Pandora's property can we get on?"

"Sure," he agreed and begun to head for the exit. He had nearly reached the doorway when Nakamura's voice once again rang through the complex.

"Very clever, BK-201," the man announced angrily. "So, this was your mission all along, was it? I did wonder when you took the route that you did. Clever, but ultimately pointless. We have two more generating stations and we can tap into domestic supplies if we need to."

"It still causes a problem for you, doesn't it," Hei yelled in reply.

"All your foolish act has done has given us more time to surround you. There are hundreds of soldiers surrounding every exit to that building," Nakamura continued, giving no indication that he had heard Hei. "This time, BK-201, there is no escape."

"What do we do?" Misaki demanded.

"It is a poser, isn't it?" a clear voice declared.

They both spun on the spot and saw, sitting a box off to the side, a young girl with beautiful, flowing, blonde girl. She smiled at them impishly.

"Ama!" Misaki gasped as she recognised the strange girl they had encountered back in South America.

"Hello, Misaki, nice to see you," the girl greeted her. "Came to your senses about Hei here, I see. I knew you two liked each other, really."

"What are you doing here?" Misaki asked in confusion.

"Taking care of the next step," Ama explained mysteriously. "Hei was very clever and worked out the clues I had given him, with the result that he blew up these generators. Despite what that meanie says, Pandora has only just enough power now, and we can corrupt their plans, can't we, Hei?"

"Wait, what clues? Have you been in contact with this girl recently?" Misaki demanded her stoic companion.

"Oh, don't be angry with him, Misaki," Ama interrupted. "He is a Contractor, and I needed to guide him to do what needed to be done. Even with this game, there are rules that need to be followed."

"What are you talking about? Hei, what is going on?"

"Things are coming to a head, Misaki," Hei explained. "We're nearly at the end of it all."

"What?" Misaki demanded again, although she felt a shiver of fear at Hei's words.

"All will be explained, Misaki," Ama told her softly. "Certain things have to happen to repair all the damage that has been done. Don't worry, it will all work out for the best."

"Where do we need to go now?" Hei asked the girl.

"You silly," she teased. "Hell's Gate, of course. Where else would we go?"

"That might be a problem," Misaki muttered darkly. "We have several hundred angry Pandora personnel with guns who rather want to kill us outside."

"No problem! Just take my hand," Ama instructed them.

Hei, of course, walked over to the girl and took her left hand without hesitation. Feeling like she was just waking from some strange dream, Misaki followed suit and took the beautiful child's right hand.

She was only moderately surprised when, a second later, they vanished.

* * *

There was no notable sense of movement. One second, Misaki was in a dark, musty generator room, the next she was standing at the centre of a crossroads in the open air.

Looking around her, she instantly knew she was within the gate. Even if the deserted and decaying buildings hadn't given her the clue, the ominous, oppressive feeling that assaulted her would have confirmed it.

"Where do we need to go, Ama?" Hei asked, his voice sounding unusually loud in the eerily quiet city.

"Just over there," the girl replied, pointing to a large, derelict-looking building that was probably once part of a shopping centre or maybe a warehouse. "Pandora's operation centre is hidden within it."

"Wait a minute," Misaki objected. "If that's their main operation centre we can't just storm in their by ourselves! It's bound to be heavily guarded and we have no clear idea what they are even doing."

"The same thing that they did before," Hei supplied. "They're going to use a particle accelerator on Hell's Gate. The only difference this time is that there is a simultaneous operation going on at Heaven's Gate run by the Chinese. They intend to coordinate their attack and fire at the same time."

"But… how do you know that?" she gasped.

"Ama told me," he replied simply.

Misaki stared at the girl who merely grinned back at her. She had the feeling that asking how Ama came by the information would be a waste of time. Another question occurred to her, though.

"Okay, but why do they need to fire particles at both the gates? Before they were happy to just use that Jupiter Ring device against Hell's Gate."

"Because they now understand the relationship between the two gates," Ama explained. "They are linked and always have been. In fact, it was just was well Hei stopped them last time as destroying just one of the gates would have been a global catastrophe. It was the reason that Hei and his sister had to seal off Heaven's Gate for so long."

"You did that?" Misaki exclaimed, turning to him.

"Yes, well, it was Bai to be exact, but I suppose that's a moot point at the moment."

"Why do I get the feeling I've been left out of a lot of this," she accused him. "Why am I only hearing about all this now? More to the point, what the hell can just three of us do about it? I assume this plan will wipe every Contractor and Doll off the face of the planet?"

"Yes, that's the plan," Ama confirmed. "Of course, the Americans and the Chinese also believe that it will leave both gates functioning as an inexhaustible power supply for them, but that's completely wrong, I'm afraid. Once they fire those particle accelerators, both gates will be gone forever."

"Then why do they think that they can use them as power sources?"

"Ah, that's Pandora's doing, although I might have had a hand in promoting the idea," Ama confessed. "Madam Oreille has been very helpful in leaking some very misleading information, too."

"So, I have been left completely out of the loop, haven't I?" Misaki noted angrily.

"We did what had to be done," Ama told her. "Be content that you are here, right at the end of all this."

"You still haven't pointed out how we're going to stop all of Pandora by ourselves," Misaki pointed out.

"We don't need to stop them, we just need to get Hei close to the particle accelerator," Ama explained.

From the moment, Misaki had to be content with just that information.

* * *

They walked swiftly towards the large, desolate building and entered through a doorway that was little more than a ruined shell. Misaki could only think that if this was a Pandora base it was very well camouflaged.

"Over this way," Ama urged, pointing to a dark stairway.

They both followed the small girl, their steps echoing in the empty space. The stairs led upwards and led to a dimly-lit hallway. Without pausing, Ama hurried down a corridor and turned right, with Hei close on her heels. Misaki followed on behind, feeling very unsettled by recent developments. She had too many questions floating around her head and a churning sensation in her stomach.

As she turned the corner, she saw Ama and Hei had stopped in front of a metal vent which they were examining closely.

"This is a secret entrance into the base," Ama announced.

"And how would you know that?" Misaki demanded.

"You need to trust her," Hei insisted. "Believe me, she knows."

"This is crazy," Misaki snapped. "Why am I being told nothing here? This girl obviously isn't normal, what is she, exactly? In fact, if she's so omnipotent why doesn't she just waltz into the secret base and do whatever you plan to do with that particle accelerator?"

"I can't, Misaki. Look."

Ama stepped closer to the wall and raised her arm as if she was going to press her palm up against it. Instead, her hand passed straight through it.

"I'm not really here, you see," Ama explained. "I cannot physically interact with this world."

"What are you?" Misaki gasped. "Some sort of ghost?"

"If you like," the golden girl said with a shrug, "but you can see why I need you and Hei's help, can't you?"

"I guess so," Misaki agreed, feeling like she was in a dream.

"Good. Hei, can you remove this metal panel, please? You should find an access hatch behind it."

"Got it."

It took Hei mere seconds to prise the panel off, revealing a dark shaft with metal rungs fixed into the opposite wall.

"I guess we're going down?" he enquired.

"Yes, the base is about thirty feet underground, so we have a little way to climb," Ama confirmed.

"I guess I'm going first."

With that, Hei swung his legs over the edge of the drop and reached out and grabbed the metal rungs on the wall. Swiftly, he dropped out of sight and he descended down the shaft.

"Me next," Ama told Misaki, "then you follow on behind."

The small girl also vanished from sight leaving Misaki to scramble after them. She was considerably less adept at getting a footing on the metal rungs and rather slower making her decent, too. Eventually, though, her feet hit solid ground and she found that she had reached the bottom. Gratefully stepping forward, she saw Hei and Ama paused at the end of a short corridor, examining a solid-looking door.

"Is it locked?" Misaki asked as she approached them.

"Yes, but I can get it open," Hei responded. "The only question is whether in doing so I'll set off an alarm."

"Don't worry about that. We'll have plenty of time to do what needs to be done," Ama assured him.

Hei placed his hand on the door and there was a spark of electricity. A moment later, the heavy door swung silently open.

"Come on, we haven't got far too go," Ama cried, darting through the doorway, with Hei hard on her heels.

Misaki followed, feeling like she was in a dream. In fact, ever since Ama had reappeared she'd felt a strange sense of unreality about everything. It was if she no longer had any free will and was merely following a pre-determined role, like some actor in a play. Nevertheless, she hurried on after Hei and Ama, certain that something monumental was about to occur.

They ran down a dim corridor unmolested, with Ama leading the way without hesitation. After several minutes, she came to a halt in front of a plain door, which she opened confidently.

"Is this it?" Hei enquired.

"Yes, you know what to do," Ama replied.

The three of them entered and Misaki was slightly shocked to find herself in a generator room not dissimilar to the one at the Ohara research facility that they had left barely half an hour previously. Hei marched up to a control desk identical to the one he had fried and sat down in the chair positioned there. He took a deep breath and placed his hand on the panel… before removing it without seeming have done anything.

"It's finished," Hei told Ama.

"Well done," the small girl praised him. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"Hold on a second! What the hell just happened?" Misaki barked.

Ama turned and looked at her sadly.

"We're putting an end to all this, Misaki," Ama explained softly. "The gates should never have existed in this world and neither should the Contractors. This has all been a terrible mistake and one that we have now taken steps to rectify."

"Rectify? How? When?"

"Misaki, you need to drop that rifle," Hei told her. "Trust me, you won't need it."

"What? Are you crazy? Pandora soldiers could appear at any minute."

"They will," Ama agreed. "In fact, they are just a minute or two away. That's why you need to get rid of that weapon, otherwise, they will shoot you on sight."

Misaki stared at them in confusion. With a sigh, Hei stood and walked over to her before planting a gentle kiss on her lips. When he stepped away, he had her captured rifle in his hands, which he then tossed carelessly away.

"Why?" she managed to gasp.

"The time for fighting is over," he explained. "If all goes well, we'll never have to fight ever again."

The sound of running feet came from outside causing Misaki to spin around. A moment later, she felt Hei's restraining hand on her arm and she felt the strength drain out of her. None of this made the slightest bit of sense and her only option was to trust him. Not that she had any other choice. A second later, a Pandora soldier appeared in the doorway and instantly pointed his weapon at them.

"We surrender," Hei called out raising his hands in the air.

"Me, too!" Ama squealed, actually sounding happy about it. She wiggled her fingers as she waved her arms above her head.

Reluctantly, Misaki followed their example. The soldier approached slowly, his rifle pointing at them unwaveringly. Several other men followed behind them, all looking around warily.

"Don't worry, this isn't a trick. We surrender," Hei told them.

"Drop your weapons," the soldier yelled, the thought apparently only just occurring to him.

"These women are unarmed. I have two knives which I will drop on the floor. Okay?"

"Do it!"

To Misaki's amazement, Hei reached into his jacket and retrieved his precious blades which he then casually threw on the floor at the soldier's feet.

"On your knees. All of you! Place your hands on your heads with your fingers interlocked."

Obediently, the three of them knelt down and followed instructions. This actually seemed to confuse the Pandora soldiers and the lead pair began to whisper between themselves, probably trying to decide if they should just shoot them, Misaki speculated grimly.

"Professor Schroeder will want to talk to us," Ama suddenly announced.

"What?" one of the soldiers gasped. "How do you know Schroeder is here?"

"Never mind that, just tell him that Misaki Kirihara and BK-201 are here and want to talk to him," Ama insisted.

The soldier looked at them dubiously but then turned away and began to speak into a hand-held radio. He was too far away for them to hear what was being said, but the results of the conversation must have been favourable.

"Cuff them and bring them along with us," the soldier ordered after putting down his radio.

"Are you kidding?" one of the men protested. "That guy is a Contractor. He could kill us without blinking."

"And you could just gun us down in a second," Hei interrupted. "Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to risk the lives of these two ladies."

Reluctantly, the soldiers approached them and quickly pulled their arms down and secured them behind their backs with plastic strips. Misaki grunted as the plastic cable was pulled tight around her wrists but didn't complain. Neither Ama nor Hei appeared concerned about the turn of events in the slightest.

"Get them to their feet and take them to the main control room," the soldier barked at his comrades.

They were led out of the room and down the long corridor, moving in the opposite direction they had come. It proved to be a long walk, up stairways and through seemingly-identical hallways. Misaki soon lost all sense of direction and knew that even if an opportunity to escape presented itself, she would have no idea in which direction to run.

Thoughts of escape soon vanished, however, when they finally entered what appeared to be a large control room. The first face Misaki saw proved to be a familiar one.

"Ah, Miss Kirihara!" Schroeder greeted her. "How lovely to see you again, young lady."

Two other men stood with the professor. One was a large, middle-aged man that she didn't recognise but had the bearing of an important person. The sight of the other person made her blood boil.

"Well, Bk-201 and Miss Kirihara. You do manage to move around quickly, don't you? I see I made the right choice by taking a helicopter ride here."

The smirking face of Mister Nakamura was almost more than she could bear.


	12. Chapter 12 - Dreamtime

**Chapter 12 – Dreamtime**

AN

Ah, the final chapter in my little tale. I have to say, despite this having the lowest hit count of any story I've ever published by some margin, I have really enjoyed writing it. Having had the desire to dip my toes into fresh waters after writing Harry Potter for so long, I really don't think I nailed it with my pair of RWBY stories. This one, however, just felt much more natural and I loved immersing myself in the world of DTB. Not a broomstick in sight, either.

Thanks to Arnel for agreeing (insisting!) that she beta this despite the fact that she'd never even heard of the show. Thanks to my loyal reviewer, tsuki-llama, who at least let me know that someone was reading this!

* * *

"Well, how lovely to see you all," Nakamura announced. "Never in a million years would I have guessed that you would have made it back to Hell's Gate so quickly. Was this child something to do with it? Is that her power?"

"Never mind that," the unidentified man snapped. "The questions is, what did they do? Is the particle accelerator undamaged?"

"We didn't have time to do anything," Hei stated firmly.

"Bullshit!" the man raged. "I know all about your powers, BK-201. It would only take a moment for you to create havoc with your molecular manipulation powers."

"You were just too fast for us," Ama piped up. "Plus, Hei had already used his powers back at the Ohara research facility. He needed time to recharge himself before he could do it again."

"Is this true?" the man demanded of his two colleagues.

"Quite possibly, we just don't know," Nakamura admitted.

"We've already run a complete diagnostic of the system and nothing seems to be wrong," Schroeder added.

"Well, check again! Go over every single piece of equipment again. Nothing can be allowed to go wrong this time."

"Yeah, you only get one shot at this, don't you?" Hei noted. "I mean, I can't imagine the Americans and the Chinese are going to be too happy when they find out that they're not getting a wonderful new, unlimited power source, are they?"

"You always know more than is good for you, don't you, BK-201?" the man snarled. "Perhaps we should just shoot all three of you right now just to be on the safe side."

"No need," Schroeder pointed out. "We'll be firing the device in less than two minutes. At that point, these two Contractors will be no more. In fact, it will be useful to have them here so we can observe the effects of the device on them."

"No snappy name like the Jupiter Ring this time? I'm disappointed," Hei noted sourly.

"Oh, we call it the Jupiter Ring 2, just to save time," Schroeder revealed. "The one in South America is called number 3, although they are essentially one and the same machine, just with components on different continents."

"I understand how proud you are of your damned toys, professor, but perhaps you would refrain from revealing our entire plan to the enemy," the man snarled.

"We already know," Hei told him. "Two particle accelerators, one at each gate, both set up to fire particles with the same atomic charge, at precisely the same time. You know now that destroying one gate would never be enough, don't you?"

"Yes, and we know that's why Heaven's Gate was hidden from us for so long, to protect you Contractor scum. I assume that the rumours of the gates reappearance prompted your little trip out to South America, BK-201? You and this traitorous bitch, here."

"Just who are you?" Misaki demanded.

"My name is Sato and I'm the director of Pandora. I'm the man behind all this and the reason your lover there is about to be wiped out of existence."

"One minute," Schroder interrupted. "Have we detected any problems with the systems?"

"No, sir," a technician called out from a nearby control station. "The accelerator is ready and we're just bringing it up to full power."

"No problems with the power source?" Sato demanded. "That was where this intruder was found, after all."

"Everything is functioning correctly, sir," the technician confirmed.

"Of course, we no longer have the standby generator at Ohara station, but that was only ever a backup. I'm sorry, young man, but you picked the wrong target," Schroder informed Hei with a hint of smugness.

"As was planned," Nakamura added. "It looks like we were right to lure you into attacking the wrong site."

"You bastards," Misaki spat. "You're about to kill thousands in cold blood for no real purpose! You're no better than the Nazis!"

"No purpose? There is no greater threat to humanity than these Contractors," Sato stated firmly. "They are an affront to us all. The world is about to become a better place in…"

"Twenty-nine seconds," Schroder supplied.

"Less than half a minute. You had better say your goodbyes, Kirihara, because this piece of excrement is about to be erased. Mind you, you'll be following on shortly afterwards, you traitorous bitch, so you won't have long to pine for him."

"You… you… bastard!" Misaki screamed, before turning to Hei in desperation. "Hei, this can't be happening. They can't do this."

"They can and they are," he replied calmly. "It was inevitable. They were never going to give up their attempts to kills us. Also, while it pains me to agree with him, I have to say the world will be a better place without Contractors in it."

"Not for me," she replied with tears in her eyes.

"Here we go," Ama suddenly shouted merrily. "Ten seconds to go!"

Both Nakamura and Sato stared at her in surprise, but Schroder was oblivious.

"Confirm the data link between both accelerators is functioning!" he cried. "Are the power levels correct?"

"Yes, professor," a technician called out. "Both Jupiter 2 and 3 are operating in perfect unison. Power levels are at optimum. We're ready to fire."

"Three… two… one… fire!"

The actual firing of the Jupiter ring was a massive anti-climax insomuch as there was no visible or audible signature to it. Instead, everyone turned their heads towards a pair of large screens. One showed what was obviously Hell's Gate, with its abandoned buildings and crumbling architecture. The other seemed to show an area of empty wilderness. Presumably, this was Heaven's Gate.

"Did it work? Were we successful?" Sato demanded.

"Confirmed! Both accelerators fired simultaneously and are maintaining a steady particle stream."

"There! There!" Schroder called out suddenly while pointing to the screens. "It's starting!"

Misaki looked up and saw that at both locations a small whirlwind had begun to form, sucking up dust and debris from the surrounding area. They began to grow, increasing in size and ferocity with every second.

"What the hell is that?" Nakamura gasped.

"Don't worry! That's just the anti-gate particles forming and expanding. It's just as we expected," Schroder assured them all. "Eventually those vortexes will encompass both the gates. Once they reach their optimum size and density, they will explode, shooting particles to every corner of the globe. Every Doll and Contractor in the world will be eradicated instantly."

Sato turned and smiled cruelly at Hei.

"Your time is at an end, Contractor. Nothing can save you now."

Hei just stood and stared back at the man impassively.

By now, Misaki was starting to panic. Despite Hei and Ama stating they had done something to the machine, Pandora's plans appeared to be proceeding flawlessly. Why did everything seem to be going ahead without a hitch? When was Ama's plan going to take effect?

"Umm, sir? We seem to be picking up an unusual reading," one of the technicians announced.

"Unusual reading? What are you talking about, man?" Schroder snapped.

"The particle stream… it's starting to show unexpected fluctuations. The power supply seems to be pulsating rather than delivering a constant power level."

"What? It is affecting the particle stream?"

"That's the odd thing, sir. The anti-gate particles are continuing to amass as planned. It's just… I don't know, professor. We appear to be detecting some odd high-frequency interference, but other than that, everything looks fine."

Nakamura wasn't convinced. He turned to Hei and raised his pistol.

"What did you do?" he demanded.

"What had to be done," Ama replied, stepping forward. "We altered the time intervals between each particle collision."

"Why? What are you hoping that will achieve?" Schroder asked.

"Oh, the same thing you were planning to do," Ama assured him. "The only difference is that rather than trying to kill all the Contractors and Dolls, we are trying to send them home."

"Home?" Sato repeated. "What are you talking about, little girl? You'd better start giving me answers right now!"

"We're merely repairing the damage caused by this fool here," Ama explained, pointing directly at Schroder.

"Me?" he screeched.

"Yes, you. Two years before the gates formed, you were working on a project with the code name 'daffodil', weren't you?"

"Yes, I was," he admitted. "But what has that to do with anything? The project was a failure."

"What was this project, Schroder?" Sato demanded.

"Why, it was an investigation into the fabric of reality and an attempt to prove the existence of parallel universes. We used a circular electron accelerator to try and punch a hole through to one of these other universes. I don't understand why this is being brought up, though. As I said, the project was a complete failure."

"Except it wasn't," Ama disagreed. "You never noticed because it took so long to see any results."

"Wait a minute," Sato interrupted. "Are you somehow suggesting that Professor Schroder had a hand in creating the gates?"

"Absolutely. You see, his little experiment did work, but not how he intended. He made some fundamental errors in his calculations which were never picked up. The result was that a dimensional rift did occur, but it happened a long way away from the Earth. A small rift was opened and a small bundle of matter was pulled from one dimension into this one. It hurtled through space for two years before it reached this planet's atmosphere, where it broke into two and plummeted to the ground."

"The meteors!" Misaki exclaimed. "The two fragments of the meteor fell to Earth where they created the gates!"

"Got it in one," Ama confirmed with a smile. "Of course, it's not quite that simple. You see, this meteor was made up of matter effectively ripped from the other dimension under extreme pressure. It was made up of not only raw, elemental substances, but of the actual life-force of living beings that had been sucked through the rift. I suppose you'd call these life-forces 'souls' or something similar. Either way, living, sentient beings had been compressed into a ball of matter and thrown into an alien dimension. These souls were relatively protected when encompassed into a mass of material from their own dimension, but when this was split open they did the only thing they could to survive; they fused themselves with the only appropriate living being on the planet that could support them, namely humans. That is how Contractors and Dolls came to exist seemingly overnight."

"So, these souls from another dimension took over the bodies of human beings?" Sato asked harshly.

"I wouldn't say 'took over', exactly," Ama disagreed. "Fused is a better way to describe it. That's why the host humans all retained their memories, even if their personalities changed greatly. They're still evolving, too. That's why we have to send them back now before they become too human to survive in their own dimension."

"Wait a minute," Schroder interrupted. "You're saying my experiment actually worked?"

"Yes."

"But… but… this is marvellous! I am responsible for the discovery of another dimension and proved that travel between the two worlds is possible! I'll be famous. I'll be revered as the greatest scientist in history! I'll…"

A shot rang out causing every technician in the room to jump in fear. Most of them turned in time to see Schroder's body fall with most of the back of his head having been blown away. Nakamura stood impassively nearby, his recently discharged pistol still raised.

"You will ensure that all his research is destroyed, won't you?" Ama asked, peering down at the professor's body.

"Naturally," Sato confirmed.

"Excellent. We wouldn't want any other mistakes to happen now, would we? Oh, and you will regulate the use of those dreadful particle accelerators, too?"

"This will never be allowed to happen again."

"Good. Well, I think our work is done here. If you will excuse us, I think Misaki and Hei need a little privacy in which to say their goodbyes. Farewell, gentlemen, and pray that you never have cause to meet me again."

With a casual flick of her wrists, the handcuffs that had been firmly in place a second ago fell to the floor. A second later, the ones around Misaki and Hei's wrists also dropped to the ground. Ama reached out and touched both of them on the arm… and vanished.

"Should we go after them?" Nakamura asked.

"Don't be an idiot," Sato snapped. "I have no idea what that girl was, but she clearly isn't human or even a regular Contractor. She was something else, entirely. No, I think we can count ourselves lucky to still be alive."

Nakamura just grunted but didn't disagree.

* * *

They landed in an unfamiliar, open field. In the distance, Misaki could see a hill line but other than that there were no recognisable features anywhere in sight. She was shocked at how late it had become and that the stars were clearly visible in the darkening sky. As she looked, a shooting star plummeted to earth.

"It's started," Hei noted.

"It has," Ama agreed. "I should go. I need to be there to guild everyone home. Besides, as I said, you probably need a little privacy to say goodbye to Misaki."

Misaki looked up in shock. Suddenly, the significance of what was about to happen hit her.

"Follow on when you can," Ama added, shooting a glance at Hei before she vanished. Hei turned and faced his lover with his hands hanging limply at his sides.

"Misaki…" he began.

"No! This isn't happening," she interrupted. "You explained to me, you told me that you weren't really a Contractor. That was your sister, right? Why do you have to go?"

"Because Bai has been a part of me for so long that we are fused together. Honestly, I don't think I could even live without her being part of me anymore."

"You lied!" she accused him. "You said we'd be together when you knew this would happen!"

"I said that we'd be together until the end," he corrected. "This is the end. Besides, I really don't have a choice in all this."

"But…"

She realised there was nothing she could do or say. Overhead, stars were starting to fall regularly now, bright points of light dropping like stones to the ground. Tears began to fall down her cheeks and she started to tremble. Suddenly, she felt his arms around her and she buried her face into his shoulder.

"If I could choose, I would stay," he whispered. "The time I've had with you has been wonderful, like nothing I could have ever dreamed of. Ever since I became a Contractor I've felt like I'd been cursed, you know, but being with you… the love we shared… it was the happiest time of my life."

"What am I going to do now?" she sobbed. "My father is dead, Pandora are never going to stop hunting me, and now I'm going to lose you. What future do I have?"

"A good one," Hei insisted. "Oreille will help you forge a new identity and, as long as you don't draw any attention to yourself, you'll be able to build a new life. You're strong, Misaki, possibly the strongest person I've ever met. Things may be bad for a while, but you'll bounce back. You can be anything you want to be now."

"What I want is to be with you, you stupid idiot," she snapped, her cheeks wet. "But I guess that's the one option that isn't available to me, is it?"

"No. I'm sorry."

"Hei, I… what's wrong?"

As she held him, Misaki felt her lover's body begin to shake. His breathing suddenly became laboured, and he stumbled. Misaki suddenly found herself struggling to support his weight. Awkwardly, she managed to lower him to the ground.

"This is it," he rasped. "I can feel myself being pulled towards the gate. My body will remain here but my soul will be free."

"Hei," she wept.

"Goodbye, Misaki," Hei mumbled with his last remaining strength. "I… I… loved… you…"

His frame jerked once and was suddenly still. In a panic, Misaki looked up and desperately searched the sky above her, but the stars were now falling like rain and she couldn't tell which of them her beloved BK-201 was.

Feeling what little strength she had left fail her, she slumped forward and rested her head on Hei's chest. Her tears had stopped and now she just felt numb. The world felt cold and empty and she was alone. Totally alone.

"You promised," she whispered. "You said we'd be together."

"And you will."

The strange voice made Misaki jump and she spun around. Standing a few feet away was a tall, slender girl with dark hair and startling blue eyes. Eyes that seemed familiar to Misaki. Indeed, for some reason, she felt that she should know the girl, even though she would swear they had never met. Suddenly, it hit her.

"Bai!"

"That's me," the girl admitted, favouring her with a sweet smile.

"But… Hei said you were fused together, that you had become one. How are you standing there separate from him?"

"Ah, yes. I'm afraid Hei's going to be angry with me," Bai admitted. "We may have been one for many years, but the power we shared was mine. My ability was molecular manipulation and I used it to fuse with my brother when Heaven's Gate disappeared. Now, I've used the same power to separate us."

"Why?"

"Because Hei has spent his entire life looking after his little sister, and now it's time for him to live his own life. Honestly, Misaki, if he hadn't met you I would have happily travelled beyond the gate with him, but seeing and feeling how happy he's been with you, I realise it's time for us to go our separate ways."

Misaki looked down at Hei's inert body. She gasped as she saw the steady rise and fall of his chest. He was breathing again!

"Make him happy, Misaki," Bai continued. "He'll probably be a wreck for a while. As he said, we've been together for so long it will be like losing a part of yourself. Help him get through it and then make a happy life for yourselves. He can be a moody, miserable idiot at times, but I know you'll be able to slap that out of him when he gets like that."

A snort of laughter escaped Misaki's lips, but in truth, she felt like her heart was going to explode. Although her words were calm and soft, Misaki fully understood just what Hei's sister was giving up.

"Thank you," she said simply.

"No, thank you for making him happy. He deserves it. Really, a girl couldn't wish for a better brother. Just look after him for me."

"I will."

"Goodbye, Misaki. Tell him I that I love him and, well, try and make him understand."

"I'll do my best."

With one last, sad smile, the figure of Bai slowly vanished. This time when she looked up, Misaki saw a single star, brighter than all the others, streak past. This, she knew, was Bai.

A soft moan made her look down and she saw Hei begin to wake. Knowing the pain he was going to feel when he understood what had happened, Misaki sank back down and wrapped her arms around him. No matter what, she would be there for him, no matter how difficult it may become. Bai had sacrificed a great deal to make this happen and she would not waste the opportunity.

Overhead, the stars continued to fall.

Epilogue

Kanami Ishizaki stepped climbed out of her rental car and looked around. The small town of Itomori was spread out in front of her with the glittering waters of the Sea of Japan laying beyond. The place seemed quiet and touristy, definitely not what she had been expecting.

It had been a difficult few years for her. After the National Astronomical Observatory had been closed down, she had taken a research post overseas. It was during that time that she lost contact with her best friend, Misaki Kirihara, but she had missed all the troubles that Japan had experienced during the US occupation. After the disappearance of all the Dolls and Contractors, not to mention the total disappearance of both gates, the Americans had left and she had been able to return home. Unfortunately, she'd been able to find no trace of her friend and all evidence had suggested that she'd died.

For some reason, Kanami hadn't believed that, however, and had continued the search for Misaki when her new job allowed. She hunted for years without finding a trace of the woman until several months ago when a mysterious e-mail popped into her inbox. She had nearly deleted it as spam as there had been no title, but on a whim, she'd opened it and found it contained one single message.

I do not eat too much greasy food.

On reading that, Kanami's heart soared as it could only have come from one person – Misaki. To her frustration, though, there was no other details and all her attempts to discover where the e-mail had originated from ended in failure. It had nearly been enough to make her weep.

Then, unexpectedly, about another month later she received another e-mail bearing the same message, only this time there was a small jumble of letters underneath. A frustrating month followed with Kanami trying to make sense of the puzzle before another e-mail arrived, this time containing a different set of letters. It was only then that she realised that whoever was sending the messages was doing it in several parts. A third e-mail arrived a month later, but no more after that. Assuming that she now had everything she was going to get, she combined the all the letters contained in the three e-mails and set to work trying to decipher the tricky anagram. In the end, she cheated and used the supercomputer at her new work location which came up with fourteen possible combinations, assuming the message was in Japanese. Of these, only one seemed at all relevant.

The Blue House, Itomori

Even having the complete message didn't end her frustrations. It turned out there were three different places called Itomori in Japan. She'd already visited the other two and found that while they both had buildings that could be described as blue houses, there was nowhere actually called The Blue House.

This had led her here, to the final location on her list. She'd left this until last for the simple reason that she couldn't imagine her friend in such a sleepy backwater. Misaki had always been a city girl with a love for fast food, fast cars, and adventure. This place nearly put Kanami to sleep just looking at it. Still, she was here now and so she might as well look around.

"Excuse me," Kanami said addressing an elderly gentleman who was just passing by. "I'm in town to visit a friend but I'm afraid I've got a bit lost. Can you direct me to somewhere called the Blue House?"

"Oh, are you here to visit the Tanakas then?" the man asked, beaming at her.

"Umm, yes. I've known them for years," she replied hesitantly.

"Well, I'm guessing you must be the same age as Yuna. Did you go to school with her?"

"Yes, that's right. We're old school friends," Kanami confirmed brightly while hoping that was indeed true.

"Of course, and you're visiting her during the school holidays! How delightful. I'm sure Yuna will be delighted to see an old friend of hers. She's a pillar of this community, is Yuna. So is Riku, of course. Why, they must be the nicest couple in the whole town."

Couple? School holidays? What was this old fart going on about? Surely none of this could relate to Misaki in any way, could it?

"Oh, that's our Yuna. Miss Popularity," Kanami replied with a forced chuckle. "Err, where can I find their house?"

"Why, just up there," the man replied, pointing upwards.

Kanami turned and looked up at the heavily forested hill that loomed over the town. There, nestling within the trees, she could just see a house. A blue house.

She'd found the correct location.

Thanking the man profusely, she climbed back in her car and followed the direction that he had given her. It was just as well that she had sought out some local knowledge because she would never have found the place by herself. She nearly missed the turning that the man had described, so small was it, and she had to shift into a lower gear to climb up the steep, narrow road it led to. Eventually, she arrived at a wide driveway that was situated in front of the house that she had seen from below. She parked and exited the vehicle, pausing only to marvel at the stunning view the property had out towards the sea.

Nervously, Kanami approached the property which was surrounded by a wooden fence with a wrought iron gate set into it. She opened the gate and entered a well-tended garden that was awash with blooming flowers. A wash of lovely scents assaulted her nostrils and she stopped for a moment to take several deep breaths. This place was truly lovely.

A high-pitched scream made her turn in time to see a small girl come flying around the corner of the house, running as fast as she could. A second later, a slightly larger boy also emerged, evidently chasing the girl. As soon as they saw Kanami they both came to a crashing stop and stared at her fearfully.

"Hello. Do you live here?" Kanami asked gently.

The girl just stared at her through deep-blue eyes. The boy, who looked equally shocked, had brown eyes, but it was obvious that the two of them were related. Probably siblings, Kanami thought. They were both handsome children, with clear skin and dark, black hair. They also seemed strangely familiar to her.

"Mom!" the boy suddenly yelled and ran back the way he had come from. It only took a split second for the small girl to follow after him, the hem of her pretty dress flying as she ran. Kanami could only stare at the empty space where they had just been.

"Have you finished scaring my children?"

Kanami spun around to see a tall woman looking at her, having presumably just come out of the front door of the house while her attention had been elsewhere. She was older, but still retained her trademark glasses and withering look. She was dressed simply in slacks and a black top, and perhaps was slightly fuller of limb then she had been but there was otherwise no mistaking her.

"Misaki!" Kanami cried and threw herself into her friend's arms.

"Oof!" Misaki complained. "Not so tight! Are you trying to crush me with that oversized chest of yours?"

"Misaki, it is you!"

"Yes, it's me, but I go by the name of Yuna Tanaka now. Please remember that, especially in front of Sora and Mei."

"Those… those are your kids?" Kanami gasped.

"Yes, Sora is five and Mei is four. They'll be my only children. I'm damned if I'm going through childbirth again!"

"But… but…"

"Come inside and have some tea. I'll explain everything."

Kanami followed her old friend into what turned out to be an immaculately clean and well-presented house. After removing her shoes, she was led into a comfortable sitting room and directed to a sofa while Misaki, or Yuna as she was now, vanished to make tea. Kanami sat and looked around the room, trying to find clues as to her friend's history. She'd just spotted some photo frames on a sideboard and was about to go over and look at them when Misaki returned carrying a tea tray with the tea things.

"I've given Riku a call and he's on his way," she announced. "I assume you'd want to meet my husband."

"Husband? You?"

"Hey, don't say it like that!" Misaki scolded her. "What, am I not attractive enough to find a husband?"

"No, it's not that! How many times did I nag you to get out there into the dating scene, uh? No, I was just surprised. Oh, Misaki, why have you hidden away for so long? Do you have any idea how long I've been looking for you?"

"Actually, I was only aware that you were hunting for me this year. I thought about trying to contact you but, well, let's just say that Riku and I are kind of obliged to keep a low profile. While we keep out of sight and maintain our new identities, no one bothers us. You have to agree not to mention that have found me to anyone else, got that? I'm serious when I say it's a matter of life or death. If anything happens to my kids because you blabbed, I swear…"

"No, I promise I won't say a word. I'm just pleased you're okay. But what happened, Misaki, and why have you had to go into hiding?"

"Because I know too much," she replied. "I was there when the gates vanished and all the Contactors disappeared. I'm under strict orders not to tell anyone what really happened and that includes you before you ask."

"No, if you've had to take a completely new identity because of it, I don't want to know. I like being me, thank you very much."

"Good, just so we're clear."

"I promise. So, what are you doing now and how did you get this wonderful house and beautiful family? Come to think of it, who is this mysterious man called Riku you married? Is he dishy?"

Misaki chuckled. "Oh, you'll recognise him when you see him. As for me, I'm currently the headmistress at the local grade school. My husband runs a very popular little restaurant down by the harbor. Trust me, you have not eaten proper seafood until you taste some of his cooking."

"Really? You a school teacher? Actually, I guess it does make sense. I can't see any pupils misbehaving with you around. None of the other teachers, either."

A cry of 'Daddy' from somewhere outside diverted their attention.

"Sounds like Riku is home," Misaki noted. "It also sounds like Mei had intercepted him. Honestly, that girl can wrap him around her little finger."

That sat and listened for a moment as a young boy's voice also yelled a loud greeting and the mummer of conversation that followed. A loud 'okay!' and the sound of the children running followed, and then the front door open and footsteps could be heard. Eventually, a man appeared in the doorway. He had messy black hair and piercing blue eyes. He smiled at the two women warmly.

"Are we having a party?" he asked.

"But that's…!" Kanami managed to splutter before he walked into the room and bent down to kiss Misaki.

"You remember Riku, don't you?" Misaki asked with a smirk.

"But…" Kanami burbled.

"Get yourself comfortable, Kanami," Misaki told her friend as the former Contractor sat down beside her, "we have a long story to tell you."

Fin


End file.
